Although during the summer British unions had argued for the implementation of a united opposition to the controversial issue of shale gas activities, the country’s largest union Unite, together with the third largest union the GMB, have just done a U turn and have now opted to oppose a moratorium, proposed in parliament, on the industry’s activities. By putting pressure on Labor MPs, most of whom subsequently abstained from voting, the unions have played a key role in the highly controversial moratorium’s failure.
In the end 308 MPs opposed the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing known as fracking. Fracking entails creating underground fissures with high-pressure injections of a mixture of water, sand and chemicals, and then releasing hydrocarbons. 52 MPs voted in favor of the moratorium none of which belonged to the Labor party. Labor support had been expected and it came as a surprise when most Labor MPs abstained from the vote at the last minute.
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