nuclear-news

Labour leader to improve investment for Sizewell nuclear plant

However, campaign groups opposed to Sizewell C, including Together Against Sizewell C (TASC), have accused the prime minister of ignoring cost and time overruns and the environment impact of the project.

“the prime minister is prepared to pre-empt the spending review – and potentially flout the national pre-election period – by soon announcing that the government will commit billions more in taxpayers’ money to Sizewell C, in a flawed attempt to bolster his growth agenda.”

By Dominic Bareham, 11 April

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is set to give the final go ahead for the Sizewell C nuclear power station at the government’s spending review in the summer.

Reports in the national media suggested the Labour leader would approve investment for the nuclear plant – as well as unveiling plans for small modular reactors (SMR) around the country – before a government spending review in June.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) confirmed a decision on whether to proceed would be taken in the spending review and the new plant would play an “important role” in helping the UK achieve energy security.

In July 2022, Kwasi Kwarteng, the then Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, gave the go ahead for the Suffolk coastal plant, which is expected to cost in the region of £20 billion and provide power for six million homes.

Since then, the government has approved various tranches of funding for the project, including £2.7 billion in the autumn budget, in addition to £1.2 billion made available to the project since July last year.

However, campaign groups opposed to Sizewell C, including Together Against Sizewell C (TASC), have accused the prime minister of ignoring cost and time overruns and the environment impact of the project.

………….. a TASC spokesperson said the funding for Sizewell C would have been better spent on renewables.

He said: “It is staggering that Starmer is willing to sacrifice one of the UK’s most biodiverse areas and the precious Suffolk Heritage Coast for an ideological pursuit of growth in the form of new nuclear.

“Few can disagree that nuclear power is costly, potentially dangerous, slow to deploy, capital (not labour) intensive and is not ‘clean,’ condemning future generations to deal with the toxic legacy of thousands of tonnes of spent nuclear fuel.”

Campaigners launch legal challenge against Sizewell C planning decision

Alison Downes, from fellow campaigners Stop Sizewell C, said: “Despite huge pressures on public funding, news reports suggest the prime minister is prepared to pre-empt the spending review – and potentially flout the national pre-election period – by soon announcing that the government will commit billions more in taxpayers’ money to Sizewell C, in a flawed attempt to bolster his growth agenda.

“The reality is that Sizewell C will cost at least £40 billion for less than a thousand long term Suffolk jobs at the station.

“Yet very unpopular cuts are being made to other areas of spending, and even in the energy field that money could be put to better use.

“It could, for example, be used to bolster the Warm Homes Plan, which would lower household bills, reduce energy consumption and create many thousands of sustainable jobs nationwide, improving Labour’s chances of winning the next election.”

April 14, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK