Yearly Archive: 2013

Mr Cameron’s problem with the truth

Mr Cameron’s problem with the truth

By now we are used to the amount of spin which politicians and the industry apply to this issue. Sometimes when mistakes are made it’s easy enough to concede that there may have been a slip of the tongue. What are we to make of somebody who so consistently has...

Gaffe of the fortnight

Gaffe of the fortnight

We’ve been away on holiday but it’s hard to avoid the constant sound of feet hitting mouths even from a few hundred miles away. Some of our favourites: Lord Howell  and his ill-judged Nimbyism exemplified by his “desolate” North East comments. Lord Howell’s attempts to extricate himself by claiming he...

Lies, Damned Lies and Polls

Lies, Damned Lies and Polls

It is a common tactic of PR campaigns to try to capitalise on people’s natural group behaviour by presenting the desired opinion as a majority. This media manipulation technique is called ‘appeal to consensus’ as most people instinctively want to be considered ‘normal’. One way of doing this is to...

Could this kill off UK fracking?

Could this kill off UK fracking?

Horizontal wells – the implications for landowners. How much it will be worth for farmers to lease their land for fracking is still an unknown in the UK, but it’s clearer what will happen for landowners whose acreage is undermined by horizontal wells. If the frackers are crafty and never...

The Ludicrous Lord Nimby

The Ludicrous Lord Nimby

We are in awe of the ability of government ministers to put their feet into their mouths with such consistent accuracy. Lord Howell’s gaffes this week are classics of the genre. Now, one of the accusations that gets levelled at those opposed to fracking in the Fylde from time to...

Infiltrating schools and issuing fracking propaganda

Infiltrating schools and issuing fracking propaganda

Speaking at the Shale Gas World UK 2013 conference, Andrew Dawson, Councillor for Frodsham – Cheshire West and Chester Council and serving on Frodsham Town Council, recommended to the assembled fracking companies that they should use schoolchildren to get their message across: “Can I just push the schools to you...

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Unconventional Gas and Oil

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Unconventional Gas and Oil

We learned today that Dan Byles has appointed Lee Petts, managing director at waste and environmental management specialists Remsol and occasional Cuadrilla advocate to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Unconventional Gas and Oil (APPGUGO) http://www.lep.co.uk/news/business/remsol-appointed-to-government-group-1-5881841 Now Mr Petts is a likeable enough chap for a pro-fracker and we can...