What next at Balcombe? - Lawbreaking

Much of what’s being written about Balcombe, its well and its demonstration is speculation which should be resolved fairly soon.

Cuadrilla will find out whether the oil known to be in the ground will flow economically without being stimulated, and most of the demonstrators will have moved on, though the scattered question marks over protest backers Lush, the cosmetics chain, will probably remain.

Meanwhile,   Russell McCarthy piece at Spiked claiming that the demonstrators don’t represent the village has attracted attention. Among the commenters there, one Peter Donovan chooses the route of the direct lie, that “the intention of Cuadrilla is to frack for gas”. “Balcombe Resident” comments there

Be careful what you wish for

85% of Balcombe Residents are against fracking.

Really? That’s not the impression I get. Take a leisurely stroll around our beautiful village and count how many houses are displaying anti-fracking posters? About 1 in 20 at my last count, maybe 5%? Even less are displaying yellow ribbons to show they support the campaign. However, the ‘stroll’ event on Saturday shows how committed the Villagers really are to this cause; depending on who you listen to there were 60, 100 or even 120 Villagers participating (according to their own You Tube video). Now that surely shows that 85% are against fracking. But do the maths; 120 including children and families equates to about 30 families, out of 800 living in and around the area, so another 4-5%. Surely if you were that opposed to something you would as a minimum display a poster, a ribbon or join in a peaceful stroll?

Now I am no statistician but none of this adds up to the 85% I keep hearing about! The thing that really worries me about this 85% figure is everyone is latching onto it like it is set in concrete. It is apparently the reason why Balcombe is getting all this attention. So what if it was wrong? Would everyone go home? No, but it might make the World realise that there is another view amongst the Villagers. Maybe the dynamics of Balcombe are more complicated? Maybe Balcombe has three sets of people; the anti-frackers (say 10%), the pro-frackers (say 5%) and the others; ‘haven’t made my mind up’, ‘don’t know’, ‘neutral’, ‘sitting on the fence’ – however you want to class them making up the ‘real’ 85% of Balcombe?

All I am asking for is for a truly independent survey to be conducted where everyone gets to respond (just once) and rather than just two options; Pro or Anti there is another – Neutral. Would this paint a different picture? Maybe, maybe not but at least this magical 85% that I keep hearing about could then be verified one way or another.

I have listened to all the arguments for and against and have kept silent up until now but the realisation that over 500 extra protestors are about to descend on our beautiful little village purely based upon the ‘fact’ that 85% of us want them here has tipped me over the edge! Do we really want ‘No Dash for Gas’ to arrive on our doorstep on 16th August for 6 days? Does the taxpayer really need an even bigger bill for Policing? Do we really want an even larger camp site on the edge of a road without any sort of facilities? Apparently 85% of us do.

When this is all over and the protestors have returned to their homes or moved onto the next headline grabbing campaign we will be left to clear up this mess; a broken and much divided village.

Meanwhile, the demonstrators have announced a mass ‘swoop’ on Cuadrilla. The five day action camp taking place there will involve ‘mass, audacious and creative acts of civil disobedience’. Balcombe, they say, is widely regarded as the frontline in the government’s dash to frack the UK for fossil fuels. (If that’s true, it’s a result of these people’s misinformation.)

The Reclaim the Power camp at Balcombe will see participants engage in workshops covering extreme energy, Just Transition and work, resisting government cuts and solidarity with communities on the front-lines of climate change.

The camp will also include a full day’s ‘direct action training’ where participants will plan a number of ‘missions’ together before engaging in 48 hours of action against Cuadrilla.

Is Balcombe one of the “front-lines of climate change” (whatever that means)?

If so, it does seem clear there are plans for this front line to witness illegal activities.