I’m furious that the Government has announced its riding roughshod over the opposition of local people and a previous ruling by the local council to give permission for fracking at the Preston New Road site.

This is a clear case of the Tories versus the people.

This announcement was released on the last day of parliament – and in the middle of a global heatwave the government is kickstarting a new fossil fuel industry. Shameful.

I’ve consistently opposed the plans to frack in Lancashire and across the country – indeed I used my first contribution in the House of Commons to call for a debate and transparency on this issue. I will continue to use my role as an MP and apply as much pressure as I can in Parliament to halt this environmentally damaging development.

Labour is committed to ban fracking and to building our renewables sector – sourcing 60% of our energy from clean, green sources by 2030.