Tory MPs mull backing Labour attempt to force binding fracking vote

theguardian.com:

Labour will attempt to force a binding vote on fracking on Wednesday, as Tory MPs mull backing a bid which would allow the opposition to put down a bill banning shale gas extraction.

The motion submitted by Labour for its opposition day debate is drafted to make it very difficult for the government to ignore the vote or allow mass abstentions.

Liz Truss, who pledged to lift the moratorium on shale gas extraction during her leadership campaign, is already facing a wall of opposition from Conservative backbenchers. Dozens of MPs have written to the business secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg, to express their opposition and raise concerns about the procedure for public consent.

Labour will attempt to exploit the divisions with a debate to guarantee parliamentary time for a bill to ban fracking. The binding motion will make it difficult for the government to abstain – which it routinely does in order to ignore opposition day motions.

The bill would be passed in a single day, drawing on a similar tactic that rebels used to pass the act preventing a no-deal Brexit, spearheaded by Labour and Conservative MPs including Oliver Letwin, Nick Boles, Hilary Benn and Yvette Cooper.

Voting for that motion, which allowed the opposition to take control of the order paper, saw Boris Johnson remove the whip from 21 Conservative MPs who had voted with Labour. A repeat of that risk is likely to be very worrying for anti-fracking Tory MPs.

A Labour source said: “Every single Conservative MP stood on a manifesto in 2019 to ban fracking, and they are now faced with a clear choice. Do they follow Liz Truss and her collapsing leadership into yet another disastrous decision, or do they stand against her in the best interests of the British people?

“We know that