The SNP has narrowly rejected an attempt to toughen up its stance on fracking, with the party leadership resisting calls for an outright ban on the technology at its annual conference.
The strength of opposition among members was revealed during a debate in Aberdeen, where a succession of speakers called for the Scottish government’s policy on the shale gas extraction technique to be reconsidered and strengthened. The move was defeated by 554 votes to 427.
The debate took place as a YouGov poll for The Times found that almost six out of ten Scots, and three quarters of those who plan to vote for the SNP in next year’s Holyrood election, are opposed to fracking.
The issue has long proved divisive for the party, despite SNP ministers extending a moratorium last week to cover underground coal gasification.
Jim Ratcliffe, the chief executive of Ineos, the petrochemical giant based at Grangemouth, has urged the Scottish government not to delay a decision on the technology for too long, saying it offers Scotland a “last chance” to gain economic independence.
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Industry sources are content, however, with the moritorium, which enables mining companies to continue testing until a final decision on the technology has been made, probably in 2017.
Iain Black of the SNP’s Forth branch told delegates: “We believe that the evidence and the science absolutely and overwhelmingly supports a ban. There’s science and then there’s science that’s paid for by big business with research grants. The SNP is about healthy communities; you can’t have healthy communities if you destroy the land, if you destroy the air, if you destroy the water that we drink.
John Page, a delegate, said that the motion was “not good enough”. He added: “I suggest this motion is remitted and that the SNP comes back and more widely reflects its membership and the wider community.”
Callum McCaig, the SNP MP for Aberdeen South, speaking in favour, said: “What I would like to see is the whole analysis of the whole remit of this contentious issue from a source that I can trust. I trust our government to do this and to do it correctly.”