George Osborne’s father-in-law has warned that the Conservatives will lose thousands of votes if fracking goes ahead in the Tory heartlands of southern England and the home counties instead of the “derelict” north, where Labour dominates.
Lord Howell of Guildford said that areas such as the northeast and northwest, “where the Industrial Revolution has left the worst historical scars”, would welcome drilling for shale gas.
The Tory peer added that “bribing” wealthy rural communities where homes are typically worth £1 million with community benefits in return for hosting shale gas sites would “lose rural votes on a major scale”.
His comments, in an online journal published by the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, a think-tank, are likely to reopen the north-south row