PRESS RELEASE: The Ballot Papers Are Out
Frack Free United We Stand...For Election!
The ballot papers are out and Frack Free United, the lobbying network against the fracking industry, will be a major player in the run up to local elections in May 2019.
Frack Free United aims to bring together campaigner groups, communities and politicians opposed to the industry. Political pressure against fracking is continually increasing and the network will encourage the public to join both the election campaign and support candidates who pledge to oppose the fracking.
The network has already signed up over 80 frack-free candidates, vowing to oppose fracking in their community and beyond. Frack Free United has received an overwhelming number of requests for election leaflets, from communities across the country. Upwards of 20,000 leaflets have already been dispatched, with more on order.
Caroline Davis of Frack Free United said:
“The majority of areas under threat from fracking are going to the polls in May and it is becoming clear that to stop the industry we have to change the minds of those in power or change the people who make the decisions.”
“Since our first election campaigning efforts in 2017, we have taken this issue right into the heart of the political establishment with events at party conferences, talks in Westminster and delivering our case to Downing Street.
“It is fundamental to take this campaign right to the heart of the elections, to make policy makers aware of the strength of feeling against this extreme energy extraction technique.
“That’s why we are urging people to support their local anti-fracking candidates at the ballot box.”
Lancashire County Councillor Gina Dowding from The Green Party said:
“I totally agree that local councillors need to engage in fracking issues and energy policy.
“Councillors can do a lot in terms of informing the local electorate around the risks of fracking, lobbying national government to stop paving the way for shale gas industry, and to challenge any fracking company’s claims to be interested in the local community.”
Councillor Di Keal, a Liberal Democrat candidate in Norton said:
"Fracking is a hot topic in the area where I am standing for election. We live in a beautiful area of North Yorkshire, surrounded by rolling hills and prime agriculture land - farming and tourism are our key industries - all this is under threat from the fracking industry.
"I would urge everyone who is voting in the May elections to look at the facts about fracking and check if their home area is under threat from this unwanted and unnecessary industry.
“If so, seek out a candidate who has pledged to oppose fracking in your area and join the campaign to oppose an industry that, if it gets its way, will industrialise the countryside and put our health and well-being at risk."
Jack Ashton, a Labour candidate in Malton said:
“Climate change is one of the biggest issues facing not only our nation, but the entire world. The work that Frack Free United is doing must be applauded and we must seize this opportunity to continue the fight here. As a Labour candidate I am proud to fight fracking, a needless and polluting venture.
“Since becoming a father,the environment has become all the more important to me. It means growing up in good health for my daughter now and the inheritance of a sustainable world for her future.
“The area I grew up in was one of farming, tourism and countryside. I want to offer my daughter the same opportunities I had.”
ENDS
NOTES TO THE EDITOR:
For further information, please contact us at contactus@frackfreeunited.co.uk