By Chris Matheson

MP for Chester

Unbelievably, fracking is back on the agenda.

Last week, MPs were all emailed a letter from the Secretary of State for Business, Industry and Energy, Kwasi Kwarteng. He announced that the government was going to ask the British Geological Survey to assess the safety of fracking.

I and numerous colleagues think this is a move to open the door to allow shale gas extraction to begin in our area.

Fracking was first proposed for Cheshire over a decade ago, and in Lancashire, just north of Preston, some test drilling rigs were built.

The theory is simple: methane gas is trapped in the rocks and shale hundreds of metres below the surface. Chemicals and water are forced into this rock under high pressure, and the rocks are fractured (hence the name) which releases the gas.

I was opposed to this for many reasons: the immediate environmental effects, such as the effects of mini earthquakes; the subsoil pollution, including of watercourses, by the chemicals used; and the high failure rate of many fracking wells. Plus the hundreds of extra lorry movements each week and the use of the best agricultural farmland for the many wells which would be required.

But there is a longer-term issue too: we have to stop using fossil fuels for our energy. We must move to greener and more sustainable sources, which include solar, wind and nuclear generation.

A couple of years ago, sensing public opposition, the current government called for a pause on all fracking activities. And many thought that was the end of that.

Meanwhile, in Chester, our council rejected a planning application for some test wells. The applicants appealed and there was a public inquiry. Opposition was marshalled by the late Colin Watson who did a brilliant job. The planning inspector’s report and the decision of the Secretary of State has not yet been revealed.

So I worry that the government will use the cover of the war in Ukraine, and our over-reliance on Russian gas, plus that inspector’s report, to give the green light to start fracking in our area.

What is really absurd is that they have made it much harder to develop onshore wind farms and have taken away subsidies to do so. Yet onshore wind is the easiest, cheapest and quickest form of energy to develop – and we have lots of wind in our area.

I am clear: I will fight any attempt, by the front or back door, to try to bring back fracking. Our future must be clean and green.