So fracking will (finally) be permanently banned in the UK. This is a huge moment for the anti-fracking movement who have been fighting for nearly 15 years to see this.
Having been involved for a few key years of that fight, these are some of my quick thoughts on how this victory came about:
Determined local organising
The core of the anti-fracking movement has always been local groups all over the country who formed to oppose the industry – particularly in the places most imminently threatened with drilling like Lancashire, Sussex and North Yorkshire.
The determination and commitment these groups is completely unparalleled in my organising experience. New communities were forged, unbelievable levels of knowledge and expertise built up, power created and exerted – almost entirely from people who were doing this in their spare time, unpaid and without loads of previous experience.
These groups also support and collaborate with each other – sharing knowledge built up through their campaigning, showing up for each others’ protests, standing side by side at every opportunity. As the fight wore on, these groups countered accusations of NIMBYism by uniting across the country and even internationally under what became a rallying slogan of the movement: ‘not here, not anywhere.’
Tactical diversity and willingness to escalate
Like all successful movements, there was a vast array of tactics and strategies deployed in the anti-fracking fight. Petitions, legal challenges, marches, community outreach, protest camps, blockades – I struggle to think of a tactic that wasn’t used.
Different groups in the movement played different roles and while there was obviously disagreement behind the scenes, the tactics of one group were never publicly criticised by another – we recognised this would take everyone and everything.
And the movement escalated – we escalated hard. In Lancashire years of incredible and patient campaigning led to the county council rejecting fracking, only for them to be overruled by the Tory government. This gave legitimacy and built community support for the local fight to escalate – at one point to a month long blockade of the fracking site gates by a mixture of locals and activists from all over the country who came to support.
Some of the journeys of people in the fight illustrate this: the elected local councillor locking on at the gates of the fracking site in Lancashire, the Nanas slow walking trucks and facing down the police in their white dresses and yellow tabards.
Lessons learnt from past fights and international movements
The anti-fracking movement was smart. From the very start lessons were being learnt from fracking fights in other countries with link-ups and visits, as well as successful past campaigns in the UK – especially the anti-coal and anti-roads movements.
It helped that many of the people who had been in those fights were right there in the room as well. I clearly remember hearing someone from the anti-roads movement in the 90s explaining why we should double down on preventing fracking from starting in Lancashire – that even if we lost that ‘battle’ it would help us win the ‘war’ (something that turned out to be true).
Nerd power
People in the movement knew their shit. Local campaigners but also experts from national organisations used the legal system, planning system and electoral politics astutely to hold back the industry and give the movement a fighting chance. Sometimes you have to dive into the detail, and this was a movement that wasn’t afraid to get nerdy and beat the authorities at their own game.
An unselfish and non-territorial movement ecology
When the moratorium on fracking was announced in 2019 there were celebrations all over the UK. But I don’t remember a single organisation or group trying to claim the victory for themselves – we all recognised that this had been a momentous effort that transcended any single one of us.
This reflected an approach throughout the years of the fight – with big organisations committing time and money without necessarily expecting to get the credit (unusually), but knowing that a rising tide lifts all boats and the success of the movement would help everyone.