The U.K. has a new prime minister who has already said he will ban fracking again.
Rishi Sunak assumed the position on Oct. 25 just five days after the resignation of Liz Truss. After only 45 days as prime minister, Truss stepped down on Oct. 20 citing an inability to “deliver the mandate on which [she] was elected by the Conservative Party.”
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In his first speech, Sunak said that “Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilized energy markets and supply chains the world over,” while paying tribute to Truss but admitting “some mistakes were made” and that he was elected “to fix them,” according to details posted Oct. 25 by the Prime Minister’s Office at 10 Downing Street.
Sunak warned of difficult decisions to come but said economic stability was a component of his government’s agenda.
Among his promises, Sunak said the U.K. needs to build “an economy that embraces the opportunities of Brexit, where businesses invest, innovate and create jobs.”
U.S. President Biden also spoke Oct. 25 with Sunak and “said that the U.K. remains America’s closest ally.” The two officials also discussed both countries’ joint roles supporting the Ukrainian people and ensuring Putin fails at his war.
At 42 years of age, Sunak is the U.K.’s youngest prime minister in modern political history, according to the British daily newspaper The Guardian. He’s also the U.K.’s first prime minister of South Asian descent.
Sunak worked previously as Chancellor of the Exchequer from Feb. 13, 2020 to July 5, 2022. Prior to that, he was Chief Secretary to the Treasury from July 24, 2019 to Feb. 13, 2020, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government from Jan. 9, 2018 to July 24, 2019.
Fracking Banned Again
Sunak plans to return a ban on fracking in the U.K., which was recently and briefly lifted under the short tenure of Truss. Plans for a recently launched offshore bid round aimed at boosting the U.K.’s energy security are now also in jeopardy.
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In parliament this week Sunak said he stood by a 2019 manifesto commitment on fracking, Reuters reported on Oct. 26. When asked by a reporter if his comment meant that fracking was “back in the bin,” Sunak’s spokesman said: “That’s correct.”
Fracking in the U.K. was banned in 2019 and laid out in the “The Conservative and Unionist Party Manifesto 2019” under then Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“We placed a moratorium on fracking in England with immediate effect. Having listened to local communities, we have ruled out changes to the planning system. We will not support fracking unless the science shows categorically that it can be done safely,” the manifesto stated.