Tag Archives: scottish liberal democrat conference spring conference 2016

Fracking and the Liberal Democrats

By Martin Veart | Sat 5th March 2016 - 12:44 pm

It seems that there is widespread misunderstanding among the federal party members as to why we here in Scotland decided to end the current moratorium we had on fracking and other non-conventional extraction of hydrocarbons.

Introduced in 2013, the Scottish moratorium on fracking was, as far as one understands it, based upon awaiting further evidence. The following year, such evidence actually came to light in the form of the Scottish Government’s 2014 report: Independent Expert Scientific Panel – Unconventional Oil and Gas.

The report is comprehensive: addressing as it does both the environmental and public concerns. It comes to the conclusion that, with proper oversight, public consultation and tight planning restrictions, that it is possible to exploit the United Kingdom’s potential for future hydrocarbon exploitation.

It was upon the basis of this report that Ewan Hoyle of Glasgow put forward his amendment to end the moratorium on fracking. At conference, I spoke in support of the amendment on the current state of the industry. With the oil price currently around $36 a barrel, the North Sea offshore industry has already shed over 70,000 jobs, with the associated knock-on effects throughout the economy.