As up to 1,000 more campaigners descend on the outskirts of Balcombe, for the six-day Reclaim the Power anti-fracking camp, Natalie Bennett, Green Party leader has delivered a message of solidarity.
Bennett, who has visited Balcombe twice in recent weeks, has praised veteran campaigners and new campaigners for “coming together in a coordinated, determined, peaceful effort to protect this village. You are fighting a critical fight for Britain’s energy future.
“The Green Party is with you all the way. We’re determined to prevent fracking in Britain. We know you are too. Together we can win, and we must win – to protect beautiful countryside and the natural environment like you’re standing in today, to protect against catastrophic climate change, and to protect the vulnerable people in Britain who need affordable future energy.
“David Cameron, George Osborne, and, astonishingly, the Liberal Democrat Energy Secretary Ed ‘I love shale gas’ Davey, want to lock us into a ‘dash for gas’. That would have three enormous, critical impacts.
“First, around the country, we’d see huge numbers of lorry movements, huge stress on water supplies, and the risk of contamination of ground water and surface water supplies.
“Second, we’d see Britain heading in entirely the wrong direction to meet its legally binding carbon emissions. It’s clear that we cannot, we must not, continue on the path to catastrophic climate change, the path that fracking leads down.
“Thirdly, we’d be locking the 6.5 million people in Britain in fuel poverty – and millions more on the edge – into high energy bills, even worse poverty.”
The Green party has today launched a petition which gives anyone the opportunity to "give a firm NO to fracking."
ENDS