The kerfuffle on social media right now over some votes on fracking in the House of Commons tonight would probably dislodge a fair amount of gas trapped in rock by itself. Claim and counter-claim are zinging around furiously, but we eventually found a factual précis that even idiots like us could understand. Buckle up.

In even shorter summary:

1. Fracking was NOT devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

2. Labour abstained on a Lib Dem proposal that would have stopped fracking.

3. Labour passed an unopposed amendment ALLOWING fracking across the UK, subject to companies jumping through some hoops, eg telling people when they were going to frack under their houses and maybe cleaning up a bit afterwards.

Labour has proclaimed this the greatest victory in the history of the environment.

What’s actually happened is that oil companies have been given permission to go around blowing up pretty much any bit of underground rock in Britain they feel like to see if any gas comes out, but they have to do some basic paperwork beforehand. The Scottish Government has been denied control over the process in Scotland (though it still has some ability to interfere via planning laws).

Weirdly, Jim Murphy, who said just days ago that if he were to become First Minister he’d impose a moratorium very similar to the Lib Dem one that Labour abstained on, didn’t turn up to either vote for that UK-wide one or to vote to give himself the future power to actually enforce such a ban in Scotland.

He was playing keepy-uppy in Aberdeen instead, for reasons which are unclear.

Readers can make of all the above what they will.