First Minister urged to make her stance clear on fracking
NICOLA Sturgeon is facing fresh demands to spell out her position on fracking after the SNP was once again accused of misleading voters over its position on the issue.
Party headquarters is providing activists with campaign material including the term ‘frack off’ – a slogan widely used by activists who want to see the technique banned – despite the First Minister refusing to rule out giving the controversial gas extraction method the go-ahead once a moratorium ends next year. It came as the SNP was forced to deny reports that Ms Sturgeon is preparing to strip the energy brief from minister Fergus Ewing, who is widely thought to be open to unconventional oil and gas extraction, after the Holyrood election.
The party said that the report, published by industry website Scottish Energy News, was “totally without foundation or any basis in fact” and paid tribute to Mr Ewing for his recent role in saving the country’s steel indus- try. However, Patrick Harvie, the co-convener of the Scottish Greens, who has previously claimed Mr Ewing was on the brink of resigning after being ordered to call a temporary halt to fracking, described the SNP leader’s choice of energy minister as a “critical test” if she is re-elected.
Ms Sturgeon recently hardened her position against fracking, describing herself as “highly sceptical” and promising to block it if there is “any hint” it does environmental harm. However, her party also remains committed to taking an “evidence based” decision following new research while Ineos, the firm that wants to establish a Scottish shale gas industry, remains confident it will be given the green light.
The SNP came under fire last year for adopting the frack off slogan ahead of the General Election despite leaving the door open to fracking, but has used the term again on redesigned badges, which are coloured green and include the party logo, for the current Holyrood campaign. Asked about the election material, a party spokes- man said that as a result of the moratorium, “fracking is off the agenda in Scotland”.
However, Dr Richard Dixon, the director of Friends Of The Earth Scotland, said the term did not represent the true SNP position.
He added: “The SNP are co-opting the language of the protestors but their own party policy does not justify it. While the vast majority of SNP members want a ban on fracking, the party has to stick with their neutral stance until the current reviews present their evidence later in the year.”