Graham Stringer

Graham Stringer speaking at the House of Commons on climate change on the 6th November 2013

Graham Stringer is a British Labour Party politician who is the current member of parliament for Blackley and Broughton having previously represented Manchester Blackley from 1997 to 2010 He has served as parliamentary secretary (Cabinet Office) 1999-01, and Lord Commissioner (HM Treasury) (Whip) 2001-02.

Pro-fracking

In 2014 Stringer backed the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking' by energy company IGas at Barton Moss, Salford in Greater Manchester. He wrote in an article that those who are opposed base their arguments on 'myths that are easily shattered'. His claims were dismissed as 'poorly researched and unscientific' by protester and Salford resident Simon Bradley, who said they showed just how 'out of touch' Stringer was with the concerns of ordinary people. Stringer's fellow Labour MP Barbara Keeley, whose constituency includes Barton Moss, opposes the operation.

Anti-wind

In an article Stringer outlined his distaste for renewable energy solutions such as wind farms:

Wind turbines, in my opinion, are ugly. They are certainly more conspicuous than gas drilling rigs and they cover a greater area. They are inefficient and they only work when the wind blows, producing expensive electricity. They help increase the countries carbon footprint, not reduce it and are responsible for killing millions of bats and birds, many of them from endangered species.

External resources

• Graham Stringer, Fracking: The debate between fact and illusion, Govtoday.co.uk, 09 January 2014

Affiliations

• All Party Parliamentary Group on Unconventional Oil and Gas