Party members have been active in support of campaigners. The Green Party is the only political party in the UK to oppose the non-conventional extraction of oil and gas. We oppose fracking and extreme energy for its profligate use of water, and well known adverse consequences for human health, wildlife and geology.
We support the Greenpeace anti-fracking campaign.
Local campaigns continue to develop and we have added our support to them by organising and contributing to local public meetings, making official objections via the consultation processes, raising awareness in local newspapers, showing our support to protectors at the Cuadrilla Balcombe site.
The Coalition Government clearly intends on recklessly pushing fracking past all official obstacles and the Labour Party remains ambivalent, making a mockery of stated aims of The Localism Act. Well documented pollution and health issues elsewhere in the world from fracking activities are ignored. Consultations are a sham. Objections to government agencies are ignored and therefore our campaign must continue.
We supported peaceful demonstration, as seen at Balcombe during the summer of 2013. Our Party’s Member of Parliament, Caroline Lucas, was arrested with other peaceful protectors for obstruction. The court case will commence on Monday 24th of March 2014 at Brighton Magistrate Court, Edward St., Brighton. Join with us to show support at the trial.
We attended Brighton Magistrate Court, joining Balcombe Protectors in the public gallery. Five protesters were prosecuted for obstruction of the highway and besetting (locking themselves to the gate) at the Balcombe drill site. They were found guilty and fined heavily. Is this the price we must pay for justice? Cuadrilla's site support schedule was held up for a few hours, with costs of a few thousand pounds whilst £4m of public money paid for hundreds of police on site. The Green Party is determined to fight extreme energy extraction locally and nationally.