© Matthew Buck Hack Cartoons for Hampshire Chronicle

Plans to develop gas extraction in Hampshire have been announced based on the distribution of exploratory licences which you can see in a map here, courtesy of the lobby group Frack-Off. The Liberal Democrat councillors in the County Council have chosen to ask for  a blanket ban on ‘Fracking’ developments across the county – not too helpful really and, hence, the cartoon.

Updated 29th July 2013: Attempts to start the first active exploratory drilling at the village of Balcombe in Sussex have proved predictably controversial.

There is a fine explainer of about the process of Fracking here.

And this appears to be the present government position as outlined by Energy Minister Michael Fallon.