Did Liz Truss abstain from fracking vote? How Prime Minister voted - full list of Tory MPs who abstained

Labour’s bid to ban fracking was ultimately defeated by the government following chaotic scenes in the House of Commons which have been branded as “inexcusable” and “an absolute disgrace” by senior Tory backbencher Sir Charles Walker.

Parliamentary authorities have launched an investigation into the allegations of bullying during the House of Commons vote. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle asked the Serjeant at Arms, who is responsible for keeping order within the Commons, and other senior officials to examine the claims.

This is what you need to know about how Prime Minister Liz Truss voted, and which Tory MPs abstained.

Did the Prime Minister take part in the fracking vote?

There has been some confusion around whether or not Truss herself participated in the vote, with early abstenation lists stating that she hadn’t voted. However, the Commons has clarified that Truss did indeed vote, and that she had forgotten to swipe her pass.

On the Parliament website for the page on the Ban on Fracking for Shale Gas Bill vote, it lists Truss as having voted no.

Labour’s bid to ban fracking was defeated by the government amid chaotic scenes in the House of Commons, by 230 votes to 326, majority 96.

Conservative whips initially stated the vote on whether to allocate Commons time to consider legislation to stop shale gas extraction was being treated as a “confidence motion” in Truss’s embattled government.

But after a series of Tory MPs signalled they would not take part in the vote, Climate Minister Graham Stuart caused confusion by telling the Commons: “Quite clearly this is not a confidence vote.”

When Conservative MP Ruth Edwards, for Rushcliffe, asked the minister to clarify if those Tories who abstain or vote against the motion will lose the party whip, Stuart added: “That is a matter for party managers, and I am not a party manager.”

Who abstained from the vote?

The division list showed more than 30 Conservative MPs had no vote recorded although this does not automatically equate to an abstention, but in many cases will be.

The Parliament website explains: “A Member may wish to abstain, or have a procedural reason for not voting. Members can be absent carrying out constituency or ministerial business, or be unable to attend for other reasons.”

This is the full list of Tory MPs who did not take part in the fracking vote, per the Parliament website:

• Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty
• Gareth Bacon, MP for Orpington
• Siobhan Baillie, MP for Stroud
• Greg Clark, MP for Tunbridge Wells
• Sir Geoffrey Cox, MP for Torridge and West Devon
• Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford
• David Davis, MP for Haltemprice and Howden
• Dame Caroline Dinenage, MP for Gosport
• Nadine Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire
• Philip Dunne, MP for Ludlow
• Mark Fletcher, MP for Bolsover
• Vicky Ford, MP for Chelmsford
• Paul Holmes, MP for Eastleigh
• Alister Jack, MP for Dumfries and Galloway
• Boris Johnson, MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip
• Gillian Keegan, MP for Chichester
• Kwasi Kwarteng, MP for Spelthorne
• Robert Largan, MP for High Peak
• Pauline Lathan, MP for Mid Derbyshire
• Mark Logan, MP for Bolton North East
• Theresa May, MP for Maidenhead
• Wendy Morton, MP for Aldrige-Brownhills
• Priti Patel, MP for Witham
• Mark Pawsey, MP for Rugby
• Angela Richardson, MP for Guildford
• Andrew Rosindell, MP for Romford
• Bob Seely, MP for Isle of Wight
• Alok Sharma, MP for Reading West
• Chris Skidmore, MP for Kingswood
• Henry Smith, MP for Crawley
• Ben Wallace, MP for Wyre and Preston North
• Sir John Whittingdale, MP for Maldon
• William Wragg, MP for Hazel Grove

Chris Skidmore, the Prime Minister’s net-zero tsar, tweeted: “As the former energy minister who signed Net Zero into law, for the sake of our environment and climate, I cannot personally vote tonight to support fracking and undermine the pledges I made at the 2019 general election.

“I am prepared to face the consequences of my decision.”

Former minister Tracey Crouch and Tory colleague Angela Richardson, Guildford, both retweeted Skidmore’s comments with the word “ditto”.