In 2012, he introduced a strict regulation that means companies have to halt work if they trigger tremors over 0.5 magnitude.

Shale gas firms have said commercial fracking cannot take place under the rule. Appearing on Channel 4 in 2019, Sir Ed said the rule had “actually meant that the fracking industry has not developed in this country at all”.

“I’m very proud that you’re looking at the person who basically stopped the fracking industry in this country,” he added.

The rule was there - is there - in order to stop fracking. Not because that level of quake or tremor is actually important, but in order to stop fracking. Therefore, if we do wish to have fracking - something we think we should at least - then there’s no problem with overturning this rule. Because it’s only there to stop fracking, not for any reality-based reason.

It’s also possible to mutter about delusion:

In the same interview, he said fracking was not needed because of the “success of our renewable policy, particularly in offshore wind, means we’re not going to need anywhere near the amount of gas we did before”.

If this were true then we’d not be having the current little problems now, would we? That we are having the current little problems tells us that this statement is not true. And beliefs that fail in the light of reality are indeed known as delusions.

Sir Ed told The Telegraph he stood by what he had said in 2019, saying: “Fracking across Britain’s countryside would not mean lower heating bills as gas prices are set internationally and would not provide energy security now or in the long term.

And if that were true then the American natural gas price, driven by fracking, would not be a fraction of the UK or the varied European (there are many different European gas prices and yes indeed, they differ) ones.

So, we seem to have energy policy based upon a series of delusions. Any wonder that we have problems with energy policy?