What's behind Miliband's latest assault on fracking?

It may seem curious, but the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, safely playing out the last few hours of the Labour conference away from the media spotlight, has launched an attack on fracking, something that hasn't been seen in Britain since 2019.

- SEAN O'GRADY

It's a mystery easily solved, and has a lot to do with what could be called the political energy gap between Labour and Reform UK...

What did Miliband say?

Sticking to the anti-Farage script, Miliband made a fairly routine case against using “fracturing” techniques to force reserves of shale gas out of the ground on mainland sites. He told the comrades: “Fracking will not take a penny off bills. It will not create long-term sustainable jobs. It will trash our climate commitments. And it is dangerous and deeply harmful to our natural environment. Friends, the good news is that communities have fought back and won this fight before and will do so again.”

But isn’t fracking banned already?