Chris Took makes frack-free promise to Woking voters

Chris Took, the Liberal Democrats candidate for Woking, has promised that he will oppose any future attempts to carry out fracking in his constituency if elected.

Chris has joined hundreds of election candidates from nearly all the UK's political parties who have pledged to oppose the controversial industry in their constituencies.

The Frack Free Promise, an online platform launched by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, has already seen nearly 900 candidates commit themselves to opposing fracking in their local area or help block it across Britain if their areas have not been licensed.

The UK government has already opened up over half of Britain for fracking and is expected to start awarding licence blocks to energy firms after the election. This is despite widespread opposition to the controversial technique and growing evidence of its harmful impacts on the environment and the climate.

The large swath of Britain where fracking could take place spans some of the key marginal seats for the May election. At least 35 of the seats targeted by the Tory 40:40 election strategy are in areas licensed for fracking, as are 11 Labour and eight Lib Dem held constituencies with a swing of 2% or less.

A Com Res survey for Greenpeace UK, published in March, showed nearly a third (31%) of all voters in Britain would be less likely to support candidates who back fracking in their own constituencies, compared to just 13% who say they would be more likely to do so.

Making the Frack Free Promise Chris Took said:

"With any form of energy extraction saftey is absolutely key. I am far from convinced that the proposed safety measures associated with fracking are strong enough - we live on a small island nation where contimantion of the water table would be potentially devesatating."

Greenpeace UK energy and climate campaigner Sam Pearse said:

"For the first time hundreds of candidates from nearly all the main parties are saying a clear no to fracking rigs, trucks, and flares turning up in their constituencies. This unprecedented surge of opposition against fracking from our politicians is a sign that the tide is turning on this controversial industry.

"Fracking is not the answer to our energy needs. Instead of gambling our future on an unproven and risky industry that may never deliver, the next government should invest in the tried and tested clean technologies that can provide cheap and safe energy for decades to come."