Press Release: Frack Free Greater Manchester welcomes Andy Burnham’s ‘presumption of opposition to fracking’

220px-Andy_Burnham2FFGM welcomes the statement by Andy Burnham MP, announced on his facebook page today, that if elected Mayor of Greater Manchester ‘my position would be to recommend a Greater Manchester-wide presumption of opposition to fracking unless and until the evidence changes’.

Frack Free Greater Manchester intends to ask all candidates for the post of Mayor to oppose fracking.
Mr Burnham also posted “As Mayor, my focus would be on building the jobs of the future rather than the past. Fracking for fossil fuels seems to me to belong to the last century, not this one“.
Frack Free Greater Manchester has always support the One Million Climate Jobs campaign by the Trade Union Group of the Campaign Against Climate Change.
Martin Porter of Frack Free Greater Manchester said “Coming the day after North Yorkshire County Council showed complete contempt for their own electorate, 99% of whom opposed fracking, this is a very welcome statement.  This is an issue in which the ordinary voter has been ahead of the political class for too long. Fracking is unwanted, unsafe and unnecessary; the last gasp of the fossil fuel dinosuars.
“Manchester was the first city of the first Industrial Revolution and it can be the first city of the Green Industrial Revolution, but only if we end this fracking madness.”
Whilst echoing Martin’s appreciation that fracking is high on Mayoral hopeful’s agendas, Jenny Ross registered some concerns about the last part of the Mayoral contender’s statement: We welcome that since the Parliamentary vote on the moratorium, Andy Burnham has recognised the strength of feeling against fracking in Greater Manchester as well as the many risks to local people’s health, land, air and water.
But it’s important that people electioneering on environmental issues recognise that no ‘evidence change’ regarding fracking safety could ever alter the fact that, even if it was possible to get the gas out of the ground without irrevocably contaminating our land and water, we still can’t afford to burn it.”
ENDS

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