Some Tories oppose the government lifting the ban on fracking in England and want a vote on the issue.
Some Conservative MPs are in talks with opposition parties to try to block the government's fracking plans, the BBC has been told.
Fracking was halted in 2019, following opposition from environmentalists and local concerns over earth tremors.The controversial practice involves drilling into the earth to recover oil and gas from shale rock.A number of Conservatives told the BBC they had spoken to opposition parties about what mechanism they could use to force the government to change its plans.
Some of them have argued publicly, and others privately, that the government has not clarified how it could prove "local consent". Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has said that tolerating a higher degree of risk and disturbance from fracking appears to be "in the national interest" given the desire to produce more energy domestically since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
If enough Tory MPs voted with the opposition parties, this could overturn the government's majority meaning the amendment would pass. While an opposition day vote would not be binding, if it was backed by enough Tory MPs it could be used to show a lack of support for fracking in Parliament.Opposition sources have told the BBC that fracking is just one policy area where they are attempting to tap into opportunities to overturn the government's plans by getting enough Tory MPs to vote with them instead which, if successful, would scupper the government's parliamentary majority.
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