What really is the stance of the SNP on fracking?

If you’ve been following Scottish politics over the past few weeks you’ll know two things: that the Scottish National Party now form a minority government; and that last week a vote was held over a ban on fracking -extraction of shale gas- in Scotland.

Now, to be clear first of all, this vote was not the final decision on whether to introduce a ban on fracking in Scotland, however, it was to decide the official view of the parliament. Now surely, with the SNP being the governing party, they’d have a say in what the parliament’s view on fracking is, right?

The amendment debate over the current parliamentary view was tabled by Scottish Labour Environment spokeswoman Claudia Beamish MSP, and led by Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change, and Land Reform. With the debate being led by a cabinet minister on such an important issue, this would of course mean that the government would partake in the vote.

Not so, when the results of the vote came through, it showed that the Scottish Conservatives, naturally, had voted against the ban, and that the Greens, Liberal Democrats, and Labour, had joined forces and voted in favour. But where was the SNP? For some reason, they had abstained from the vote. An unusual move for the governing party, wouldn’t you agree?

Personally, I think it’s pretty obvious that there needs to be a ban, not just in Scotland but UK wide. And although I’m not a natural supporter of the SNP and probably wouldn’t vote for them, I feel they made the wrong choice in abstaining. As the government, they should make clear whether they’re in favour of a ban, or against one.

The Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse MSP said that the government needs more time to research the effects of fracking. There are two problems with this statement; the first being the fact that there has been research into it and has shown that it causes a lot of damage. Studies have shown that fracking affects drinking water, through pollutants being released into streams, climate change with gases such as ethane and methane being released into the atmosphere, and earthquakes around areas where fracking has been carried out. If these don’t meet the Scottish Government’s criteria for a ban on fracking in Scotland, then I’m not sure what will.

The second problem is that if the SNP want to be seen as a government that can make controversial decisions on issues other than the constitution, then they should’ve voted one way or another.

Voting in favour of the ban would show that they understand the problems with fracking and want to look at other sources of energy for Scotland, such as renewables, instead of yet another fossil fuel. While voting against would show that they’re prepared to make a controversial decision and would like to investigate the advantages and disadvantages before taking the final decisive vote on the ban.

Abstaining when they’re the governing party just shows the public that the SNP aren’t strong enough to lead a minority government properly. Although, had they kept their majority, would things be any different?