Caroline Flint MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, responding to the announcement on shale gas planning applications, said:

“The Tories have consistently ignored genuine and legitimate concerns about shale gas extraction. Now they are going a step further by denying local communities a say in decisions about whether it should go ahead.

“In June they issued planning guidance giving local residents ‘the final say’ over wind farm applications. However, when it comes to shale gas, they are saying the Secretary of State should have ‘the final say’ and are clearly guilty of double-standards.

“Despite talk of localism, they have taken the extraordinary step of saying the Secretary of State knows best. This will make it harder for them to gain public confidence. The Government urgently needs to put in place the rigorous safeguards we have been calling for to ensure that any extraction that goes ahead is done safely.”