Ed Miliband to announce a fracking ban (Image: Getty)

Ed Miliband has vowed to “ban fracking” as he launched a fresh Government attack on Reform UK.

Mr Miliband added: “And we know where they want to go next because they have told us – fracking. Fracking in your communities. Fracking will not take a penny off bills. It will not create long-term sustainable jobs.

“It will trash our climate commitments, and it is dangerous and deeply harmful to our natural environment.

Research by Friends of the Earth suggested Mr Miliband’s constituency is among those who could be impacted by fracking if a Reform government were in power.

Of these constituencies, 141 are existing Labour seats, 25 are Conservative, 15 are held by the Lib Dems and 2 by Reform UK, with swathes of Scotland, the North of England, the Midlands and the South potentially at risk.

MPs including Angela Rayner, Lee Anderson and the Energy Secretary Ed Miliband are among those whose constituencies could be affected.

A YouGov poll last month highlighted the unpopularity of Reform’s pro-fracking position with the public, with twice as many people opposing the practice as supporting it.

This runs parallel to the consistent local opposition that communities facing the threat of fracking have mounted against developments over many years, which – along with tremors at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site – eventually led to the moratorium in 2019.

Tony Bosworth, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “Wherever attempts to get fracking off the ground in the UK have been made, local communities have always been in staunch opposition knowing they’ll pay the true environmental and local costs of developers’ get-rich schemes.

“Reform has seriously miscalculated if it thinks people will lie down and accept such a deeply unpopular policy were it ever to get into power. We saw how well that worked out for Liz Truss – backing fracking was one of the key factors that led to her demise. Communities that have driven would-be frackers out of their areas remain on standby to see them off again, whenever that threat should arise – and we will stand with them every step of the way.

“The fact remains that fracking will do absolutely nothing to ease the pain being felt in people’s lives either. With the price of gas dictated by global markets, it won’t make a drop of difference to our bills. The real path to cheap and affordable energy is going green and clean by unlocking the UK’s vast renewable power potential.”

Ed Miliband announces ‘total ban’ on fracking in fresh fight against Reform

Ed Miliband has placed fracking back at the centre of Britain’s political debate after announcing plans to legislate for a permanent ban, turning energy policy into another dividing line between Labour and Reform UK.

The Energy Secretary made the announcement during Labour’s 2025 annual conference, saying the government would bring forward legislation to prohibit fracking rather than relying solely on the existing moratorium. The move came as Reform UK promoted a very different approach to domestic energy production, with party figures arguing that fracking could help expand Britain’s supply of locally produced gas.

The announcement therefore had both an energy-policy dimension and a clear political context. Miliband presented the issue as part of Labour’s wider argument for accelerating renewable energy and reducing Britain’s exposure to fossil-fuel markets, while Reform has argued that greater use of domestic oil and gas could contribute to energy security.

The debate is significant because Britain has not simply moved from unrestricted fracking to an outright statutory ban. England has had an effective moratorium on high-volume hydraulic fracturing since 2019, introduced after concerns over seismic activity. The government’s proposed legislation would take the policy further by establishing a stronger legal barrier against future fracking.

Miliband’s announcement

Miliband’s announcement was made against the backdrop of Labour’s existing manifesto commitment. During the conference, he argued that fracking was incompatible with the government’s climate objectives and said Labour would move to legislate rather than leave the issue dependent on administrative restrictions.

The Guardian reported that the government intended to bring forward legislation as part of its wider North Sea transition plans. A permanent statutory ban would mean that a future government seeking to revive fracking would have to change the law through Parliament rather than simply changing an existing policy or regulatory position.

That distinction matters.

The current position already makes commercial fracking extremely difficult in England. But a legislative ban would give the policy a different constitutional and political status. Instead of being primarily a question of government regulation, it would become a matter requiring parliamentary legislation to reverse.

Miliband also linked the policy directly to the wider energy strategy being pursued by Labour. The government has argued that Britain’s long-term energy security should come from increasing domestic renewable generation, improving energy efficiency and reducing exposure to international fossil-fuel prices.

Why Reform has become central to the argument

The timing of the announcement was particularly important.

Reform UK has argued for a different energy strategy and has supported the restoration of fracking. Nigel Farage and other Reform figures have presented domestic gas production as part of a broader argument about energy independence and the use of Britain’s natural resources.

That position gives Labour an obvious political opponent on the issue.

Miliband used his conference speech to attack Reform’s support for fracking and presented Labour’s approach as a choice between expanding clean energy and returning to greater reliance on fossil fuels. Sky News reported that Miliband explicitly used the announcement to draw another dividing line with Reform.

Reform, however, has rejected Labour’s interpretation. Richard Tice said the party would reverse the ban if it gained power, arguing that shale gas represented a domestic resource that Britain should not permanently exclude.

That disagreement is not simply about environmental policy. It reflects two different interpretations of energy security.

Labour’s position is that long-term security comes from reducing dependence on volatile fossil-fuel markets and increasing domestic clean-energy production. Reform’s position is that domestic oil and gas resources should remain available as part of the country’s energy mix.

The argument over energy bills

One of the most important questions surrounding fracking is whether producing more British shale gas would materially reduce household energy bills.

Supporters of fracking argue that increasing domestic production could improve energy security and reduce Britain’s reliance on imported gas. Critics dispute the scale of any potential benefit to consumers, pointing out that gas is traded in interconnected markets and that domestic production would not automatically mean substantially lower household prices.

The House of Commons Library examined the potential merits of a full fracking ban in a briefing published in June 2026. The briefing examined the existing UK policy framework as well as evidence concerning hydraulic fracturing and seismic risk.

This is important because the political debate can sometimes make the issue sound simpler than it is.

Even if Britain produced more domestic gas, the effect on the price paid by households would depend on wider market conditions, infrastructure, production costs and the relationship between domestic and international prices. Equally, a ban does not eliminate Britain’s need for gas immediately. Gas continues to play a role in the energy system while the country develops other forms of generation.

The disagreement is therefore partly about what Britain should prioritise during the transition.

Environmental and seismic concerns

Fracking became particularly controversial in Britain because of concerns about its environmental consequences and seismic activity.

The existing moratorium followed earthquakes associated with exploratory hydraulic fracturing at Preston New Road in Lancashire. The events intensified opposition to the technology and contributed to the government’s decision in 2019 to halt fracking.

Miliband has continued to argue that the environmental risks are incompatible with Labour’s climate strategy. Supporters of a ban point to the government’s commitment to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions and expanding renewable energy.

Opponents counter that Britain will continue to consume oil and gas for years and that refusing domestic production could increase reliance on imported energy instead.

That creates a central tension in the debate: whether the transition away from fossil fuels should involve restricting domestic production as quickly as possible, or maintaining domestic resources during the transition while simultaneously expanding low-carbon generation.

What happened after the original announcement?

The issue did not disappear after the 2025 conference.

In 2026, the government continued to pursue legislation connected to its wider energy policy. The Energy Independence Bill was announced in the King’s Speech, with the government saying it would implement its manifesto commitment not to issue new licences to explore new oil and gas fields, including licences that could be used for shale-gas fracking in England.

A government response to the North Sea Future Plan consultation also stated that the effective moratorium on approving fracking consents for existing onshore licences would remain in place, while legislation would be brought forward to end new future onshore licensing in England.

This means the policy debate has evolved beyond the original conference announcement.

The government’s broader strategy is now about how to manage existing oil and gas production while accelerating alternative forms of energy. In Parliament in May 2026, Miliband said existing North Sea fields would continue operating for their lifetime while the government sought to expand offshore renewables and other clean-energy industries.

A wider battle over Britain’s energy future

The dispute between Labour and Reform over fracking is therefore part of a much larger political argument.

For Labour, the issue fits into a strategy built around renewable electricity, energy efficiency and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. The party’s manifesto had already identified clean power as a central economic and environmental objective, alongside the creation of Great British Energy.

For Reform, the argument is different. Its support for fracking reflects a broader preference for making greater use of domestic oil and gas resources and challenging aspects of Labour’s transition strategy.

Neither side is simply debating a single drilling technique. The disagreement touches on energy prices, environmental regulation, jobs, industrial policy, imports, national security and the pace of the transition to low-carbon energy.

That is why Miliband’s announcement became politically significant.

A permanent ban would make the UK’s direction of travel clearer, but it would not settle the wider question of how Britain should guarantee affordable and reliable energy while reducing emissions.

The practical test will ultimately depend on what happens alongside the ban: how quickly renewable generation can expand, whether electricity networks can keep pace, how much investment reaches British industry, and how the country manages its continuing need for gas.

For Labour, the policy represents a commitment to a particular model of energy transition. For Reform, opposition to the ban provides another opportunity to challenge that model and argue for greater use of domestic fossil-fuel resources.

The result is a dispute that goes well beyond fracking itself. It is part of an increasingly important argument about what energy security should mean for Britain in the years ahead — and how the country balances affordability, environmental commitments and domestic production while its energy system undergoes a major transformation.

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