Last weekend FPA joined the Rolling Resistance, a month-long push organised by Reclaim the Power to support the anti-fracking movement on the front line in Lancashire. Local people are overwhelmingly opposed to fracking, which threatens to pollute their water, land, and air, and turn their beautiful home into an industrial landscape for the sake of a climate-changing fossil fuel, shale gas. The County Council’s clear decision not to grant permission was over-ruled by the government, which changed the law to empower themselves to ignore local decisions.
For 6 years, led by the Nanas, they have lobbied, petitioned – and physically blocked the way, preventing fracking firm Cuadrilla from freely accessing the site. For the month of July, they’ve been reinforced by campaigners from all around the country.
Small but effective actions every working day, with people of all generations locking themselves on to block the gate, culminate every Friday in a mass rally, which has the same effect: no one can get through. With “protector camps” against fracking at many sites around the country, there has so far been no gas produced by this destructive process, as of now — six years on from the first attempts to begin high-volume fracking in the UK.
The Lancashire actions will continue throughout July, and newcomers are made welcome at the Rolling Resistance support camp, where you will find music, food, and workshops with information and training for whatever you might choose to do.
Fuel Poverty Action has always opposed fracking. It is being presented as an economic blessing on the grounds that it will mean cheap gas and lots of jobs. Last Friday trade unionists and others spelled out how the “jobs” issue is a con – they would be short term, and fracking would destroy a local economy based on agriculture and tourism.
Meanwhile Ruth London from FPA debunked the idea that fracking would bring down the bills. The video of her speech (kindly filmed by Jo Syz) is below, for more information see here.