First Minister John Swinney absolutely rules out changing SNP’s no nuclear stance

the proposal to develop new nuclear energy was both “economic and environmental folly” that would lead to more expensive bills.

First Minister John Swinney absolutely rules out changing SNP’s no nuclear stance saying ‘there is no way on this planet that I am going to change that policy’

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 By Scott Maclennan, John O’Groat Journal 20th Nov 2025

First Minister John Swinney has absolutely ruled out any change to the SNP’s position against nuclear energy saying: “There is no way on this planet that I am going to change that policy.”

He was speaking at the weekend at the adoption night for the party’s candidate for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Eilidh Munro in Dingwall alongside Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes.

The First Minister reiterated the position after it was revealed that Anglesey in North Wales – which has many objective similarities with Caithness – is about to receive a £2.5 billion nuclear boost.

That sparked Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP Jamie Stone to reignite his argument that it is not too late for Dounreay – but the SNP must lift its ban on new nuclear power.

“This is an important announcement which demonstrates two things,” he said. “Firstly, that the UK government is serious about establishing ‘a network of small modular reactors across the UK’ – as the Energy Secretary put it.

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“The second point, which will be of enormous interest to the far north, is the specific reference from the UK government to ‘sites across the United Kingdom, including Scotland’.”

But Mr Swinney rebuffed all of those points arguing instead that the proposal to develop new nuclear energy was both “economic and environmental folly” that would lead to more expensive bills.

“I don’t think the position on nuclear power is exactly a surprise,” he said. “We have been around for a long time when we have won Caithness, Sutherland and Ross and there’s absolutely no way on the planet that I’m going to change that policy because I think it’s economic and environmental folly.

“These nuclear stations are hyper-expensive so if people are going to get nuclear power stations put onto their bills then they ain’t seen nothing yet because these projects always go way over budget.

“So we’ve got the opportunity for low cost renewable energy in Scotland in abundance and we should seize that opportunity to do the right thing, fiscally and environmentally and the nuclear argument will just saddle people with exorbitant fuel costs for the years to come.”…………………… https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/first-minister-john-swinney-absolutely-rules-out-changing-sn-419801/

November 22, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK