Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat), on Monday, 18 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 17 members in total.

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Fracking moratorium and onshore fossil fuel exploration

That this House welcomes the Government’s continued commitment to the fracking moratorium, but expresses concern that current legislation defines hydraulic fracturing only by high fluid volume thresholds, excluding lower-volume techniques such as proppant squeeze which have previously caused seismic events, including at Preston New Road in Lancashire; notes that such methods, while technically outside the current definition, pose similar environmental and public safety risks; recognises the urgency of this issue, with proposals for proppant squeeze in North Yorkshire pending; and therefore calls on the Government to update planning legislation to include all forms of hydraulic fracturing within the moratorium to protect communities, meet seismic safety standards and align with the UK’s climate commitments and transition to renewable energy.

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Secondary information

Type

Early day motion

Reference

97 

Session

2026-27

Other sponsors

Wera Hobhouse

Danny Chambers

Clive Jones

Jess Brown-Fuller

Joshua Reynolds

Subjects

Fossil fuels Exploration Planning permission Fracking

Link

View this Early day motion on edm.parliament.uk