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UK Government planning for nuclear power in Scotland in anticipation of a Labour 2026 victory

A senior UK Government minister also says Scottish
independence would be a win for Vladimir Putin. The UK government could
soon start submitting planning applications for new nuclear power stations
in Scotland in anticipation of a Labour administration at Holyrood. A
senior government source said ministers do not want Scotland “to be left
behind” and suggested potential sites including Torness in East Lothian
were being actively considered.

A senior government source said that civil
nuclear companies see Scotland as “off limits” because of the SNP’s
stance on nuclear energy. However, they said: “The reality is planning
law is devolved and so that requires a change of government in Holyrood
next May to translate these possibilities but we are planning practical
changes on the ground because we don’t want Scotland to be left behind.”


Scottish Labour has high hopes of winning the 2026 Scottish Parliament
election and its leader Anas Sarwar has repeatedly lauded the benefits of
nuclear power. However the party has slipped back in the polls and is now
several percentage points behind the SNP, who are the current favourites to
win on polling day.

Scotsman 22nd Oct 2025, https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/uk-government-planning-for-nuclear-power-in-scotland-in-anticipation-of-a-labour-2026-victory-5369530

October 24, 2025 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

A Genuinely Just Transition: Kill Off Sizewell C – Shaft Reform UK

the insanity of Labour’s nuclear obsession

Jonathon Porritt. 23 Oct 25,
https://jonathonporritt.com/just-transition-uk-sizewell-c-reform/

I’ve been more than a little mean about Ed Miliband in my last two blogs – which is somewhat ungenerous given that he would appear to be the last sensible, caring person standing in this misbegotten Labour Government.

So, let me big him up for a bit!

Last Saturday, he gave what is probably his most important speech since becoming Secretary of State at DESNZ – on what (in my opinion) is probably the single most important policy area within the sprawling DESNZ portfolio: the green economy, skills, energy efficiency, retrofit etc.

He was unveiling details of the Government’s latest scheme to create an extra 400,000 ‘green jobs’ over the course of the next few years. Thirty one skilled trades have been identified as priority areas, with HVAC (heating and ventilation engineers) and plumbing at the top of the list, with carpenters, electricians and welders next in line.

The Government won’t just be targeting those particular skills, but those who they hope will end up in the new jobs: school leavers, NEETS, veterans, ex-offenders – and those exiting the once safe embrace of fossil fuel jobs (the package includes a designated fund of £20 million to upskill workers from the oil and gas industries). Miliband indicated that any companies benefiting from Government money will have to demonstrate the contribution they can make to those goals.

There wasn’t anything like enough in the speech about ramping up the current retrofitting programmes to reduce still chronic levels of fuel poverty here in the UK, let alone about opportunities to support energy efficiency schemes across the economy – including the highly effective SALIX scheme which is allocated a miserly £32 million a year.

As we all need to keep reminding people, overall energy consumption here in the UK has actually declined by a massive 28% over the last 20 years – one of the reasons why our greenhouse gas emissions have declined by 40% during that time. As the indefatigable Andrew Warren points out:

“There is no good reason why this trend should not continue. There are still approaching nine million homes on the gas network running gas-guzzling boilers, and many of these could readily switch to electric heating. There are still some fifteen million homes with grossly inadequate insulation. And still a majority without energy efficient glazing”.

So let’s hope we hear more about these critical areas in the future. But for the time being, let’s celebrate what looks like Labour’s most substantive attempt yet to set about a genuinely ‘just transition’ away from fossil fuels.

And that’s why Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves should go on backing Ed Miliband every step of this politically contested way! The two of them still seem to have not the first idea of how to combat the surging success of Reform UK in the polls – other than to claim (pretty idiotically) that they will deliver Nigel Farage’s agenda in a rather nicer and less aggressive way.

By contrast, Miliband gets the true threat from Reform to Labour. His interview on Sunday with Laura Kunzberg was splendidly combative, providing Labour with its strongest strapline yet: that Reform UK “is waging war on jobs”.

“Obviously, this is a massive fight with Reform. Reformers say they will wage war on clean energy. Well, that’s waging war on these jobs….. it’s all part of its attempt at a culture war, but I actually think they’re out of tune with the British people because I think people recognise that we need the jobs from clean energy”.

If I wasn’t somewhat suspicious of the whole idea of ‘eco-populism’, I’d say this is a very clear signal of Miliband taking the fight directly to the climate-denying neanderthals in both Reform and Badenoch’s Tory party – and, in the process, reminding Zack Polanski, the Green Party’s new leader, that he shouldn’t expect to command this territory unchallenged!

Which is precisely why my blog yesterday – about the insanity of Labour’s nuclear obsession – highlighted the scale of the challenge Ed Miliband faces. This whole ‘green economy’ commitment has been allocated £880 million in the DESNZ budget – 50% of what Sizewell C will get in direct subsidy! And that’s before we all start paying through the nose for Sizewell C on our electricity bills. It’s abundantly clear that this newly unveiled strategy is going to need a whole lot more backing than that.

Which is why Miliband has a very strong signal to send to Rachel Reeves: kill off Sizewell C – shaft Reform. 

October 24, 2025 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Pay attention to the nuclear threat on our doorsteps

 THOSE who fear for the future of our planet understandably focus on global
heating, biodiversity loss, autonomous weapons and an unsustainable and
unequal economic system. But there remains far too little attention to the
nuclear threat on our doorsteps.

That threat of nuclear conflagration has
edged a little closer this past week, highlighting both the dangerous
fiction of “deterrence” as a guarantor of security and how preparing
for war to protect peace can head rapidly in the wrong direction.

There has been little in the mainstream media over the past few days on the nuclear strike training taking place over European skies – which still includes Scotland, despite our lack of a seat around any of the tables that
influence or decide these things.

 The National 18th Oct 2025,
https://www.thenational.scot/politics/25552853.pay-attention-nuclear-threat-doorsteps/

October 21, 2025 Posted by | UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

It is now antisemitic to object to Israeli football hooligans causing violence in your city

Laura and Normal Island News, Oct 18, 2025, https://www.normalisland.co.uk/p/it-is-now-antisemitic-to-object-to?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1407757&post_id=176482013&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=ln98x&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Aston Villa football club caused outrage when it banned Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from an upcoming UEFA Europa League match. The pathetic excuse was that West Midlands police had intelligence that Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were planning violence. Aston Villa took that intelligence seriously, just because Maccabi Tel Aviv fans had been violent at other European football matches.

In previous incidents, local authorities sensibly lied to protect Israeli fans, and pretended local fans caused the violence, disregarding camera footage and eye witnesses. News outlets such as Sky News were quick to apologise for their initial reporting and correct the narrative. This saved them from getting the same treatment as journalists in Gaza.

I’m proud to say I’m one of the few journalists who has consistently stuck to the officially authorised version of the truth, which is as follows:

In Amsterdam, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were innocently chanting words such as “There are no schools in Gaza because there are no children left” and the all-time classic, “Death to Arabs”. Obviously, only a racist would object to such chants.

Video footage shows Maccabi Tel Aviv fans carrying chains, and terrorising train passengers, and threatening journalists, and beating up random members of the public who had nothing to do with the football match. Outrageously, some local people attempted to defend themselves against these fans.

As we all know, it’s antisemitic for anyone to defend themselves against Israelis, whether they be Palestinians, or local football fans, or random people who did not know what the fuck was going on.

When Israel attacks your people, the only non-antisemitic response is to throw your people under a bus and blame them for being attacked. However, Aston Villa decided to ignore that principle, provoking outcry from all the politicians who are owned by Israel.

The UK’s most prominent genocide supporters, such as Michael Gove, suggested the ban of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans meant “no Jews allowed”. Please understand, it is not antisemitic to conflate Jews with Israel when Zionists do it.

Reassuringly, Sir Keir Starmer was instructed to say the ban was the “wrong decision.” The prime minister tweeted: “We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets. The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.”

Just so we’re clear, Starmer meant that Israeli football fans can enjoy the game. He doesn’t give a fuck if you’re the victim of violence and intimidation.

Thankfully, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmoud has stepped in and demanded Maccabi Tel Aviv fans be allowed into the game. She has promised additional police patrols so Maccabi Tel Aviv fans can chant “death to Arabs” and beat up Aston Villa fans without retaliation. She will take full responsibility for any violence by blaming Aston Villa fans who act in self-defence.

The home secretary has confirmed that any Aston Villa fans who defend themselves will be extradited to Israel where they will get the Greta Thunberg treatment. She has demanded the chair and board of Aston Villa resign for trying to protect their fans. She has requested that Aston Villa be banned from all UEFA tournaments, and insisted we should boycott, and divest from, the city of Birmingham.

If Birmingham fails to straighten up its act, Mahmoud will not rule out airstrikes against Villa Park x

October 20, 2025 Posted by | Religion and ethics, UK | Leave a comment

Bristol Airport generates record amount of renewable energy.

 Bristol Airport has generated a record amount of renewable energy from its solar arrays, totalling more than 1,425,000 Kwh so far this year. The
energy output is equivalent to the annual electricity use of almost 400
homes and already surpasses last year’s total.

 South Wales Argus 17th Oct 2025, https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/25552365.bristol-airport-generates-record-amount-renewable-energy/

October 20, 2025 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Fears raised that specialist Vulcan MoD work could shift to Sellafield

By Iain Grant, John O’Groat Journal, 16th Oct 2025

Concern has arisen that the plans to put the clean-up of Vulcan in the hands of next-door Dounreay could lead to the break-up of a long-time, specialist Ministry of Defence (MoD) support team in the far north.

The MoD has yet to comment on speculation that the intended transfer of the Rolls-Royce workforce to NRS Dounreay could lead to future work in support of the UK nuclear submarine fleet being switched to the Sellafield plant in west Cumbria.

The suggestion has emerged in the wake of the UK government’s confirmation that the decommissioning of Vulcan is to be undertaken by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), which currently oversees only the clean-up of redundant civil nuclear reactor sites.

A Vulcan worker has told the Caithness Courier that the transfer has triggered a lot of disquiet.

“The majority of the workforce don’t want transferred to the NDA as they would have to re-train to support a general decommissioning role,” said the individual, who wants to remain anonymous.

“They would much rather continue to work on the existing MoD contract to make best use of their specialist skills that they have taken years to develop.”

Rolls Royce had earlier this year been informed by the MoD to expect more work involved with the current submarine programme to come to Vulcan.

But the worker claims that the site management has since been told that this is now scheduled to go to Sellafield.

“We don’t think that is right as it is unlikely that Sellafield will deliver the work on time,” said the individual. “The Sellafield programme has slipped for the last few years whereas Vulcan has been consistently hitting its delivery targets and we have been praised for it.

“If this work goes to Sellafield, the great specialist team that has been built up at Vulcan will be broken up and forced to move into a decommissioning role which does not need the same specialist skill set.”

The worker maintains retaining the work in Caithness represents the best value for the taxpayer.

“The workforce don’t think that it is right that the MoD are going to break up the team at Vulcan when highly skilled people are desperately needed in the nuclear sector and it will take many years to train any other team up to this level of specialism.

“We don’t think that delivers best value to the taxpayers of this country. We think that highly skilled jobs being taken from Scotland to England would be unjustifiable if publicly challenged.

“This work is the next phase of the programme that has already been safely and efficiently been conducted at Vulcan over the last 60 years.”

At the end of March, then-junior defence minister Maria Eagle announced that Vulcan’s nuclear submarine support role would continue until at least April 2027…………………………

Both the MoD and Rolls-Royce declined to respond to the speculation about work being redirected to Sellafield. https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/fears-raised-that-specialist-vulcan-mod-work-could-shift-to-416873/

October 19, 2025 Posted by | employment, UK | Leave a comment

Exposed! The University of Sheffield’s role in Britain’s nuclear weapons

“It’s disappointing that there has been no public discussion of the university’s participation in Britain’s nuclear weapons system.”

By Sam Legg, 15 Oct 25, https://labouroutlook.org/2025/10/15/exposed-the-university-of-sheffields-role-in-britains-nuclear-weapons/

Working with local peace groups (such as Sheffield Action Group and Rotherham Friends of Palestine) we organised a protest outside the gates of the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). This is because of what was uncovered in the Sheffield Tribune’s article. So far, we know the following about the role of the AMRC in Britain’s nuclear weapons system:

  • The AMRC is working with the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) to design the Astraea, a new generation nuclear warhead.
  • This research has been taking place for at least the past three years.
  • The weapon being designed with AWE is expected to be 30 times as powerful as the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima.
  • This research is receiving government support from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Authority and 10 Downing Street.

Sheffield University was built thanks to the generosity of local residents (including steel and factory workers) in 1904, establishing itself as a civic university that aims to deeply connect and engage with its local community. Therefore, it’s disappointing that there has been no public discussion of the university’s participation in Britain’s nuclear weapons system. We are supporting calls for the AWE and AMRC to provide the public with an explanation.

One of the signs at the protest read ‘Make something useful instead’, harking back to the ideas laid out in the Lucas Plan and by Common Wealth to emphasise that the engineering skills being developed at the University of Sheffield should be put to better use. Minesh Parekh, a local councillor who attended the protest, told The Sheffield Tab that “there are so many areas that need cutting-edge research that could drive forwards our health and wellbeing, our net-zero transition, that are needed far more than nuclear weapons”.

With this year marking 80 years since the first atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we need to urgently reflect on whether more weapons of mass destruction is what we want the skills of our talented researchers and workers to be used for. Sheffield was once a nuclear-free zone (declared in the 1980s), yet today we are concerned that the message of the film Threads (based in the city) is being forgotten by the people of Sheffield.

Yorkshire CND will continue to discuss future action to be taken. Alongside this, we are supporting efforts for local councils to adopt motions in favour of a world without nuclear weapons. Get in touch if you would like to find out more – info@yorkshirecnd.org.uk

October 18, 2025 Posted by | Education, UK | Leave a comment

The astronomic costs of decommissioning Sellafield

 First Annual Report of the Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts.
(Paras 55&56) We were informed that the estimated cost of decommissioning the site was £136 billion, an increase of 18.8% since March 2019.

When the previous Committee last took evidence on Sellafield in 2018, the nine major projects that were underway then were between them delayed by 165 months and expected to cost £913 million more than originally budgeted.

However, the Committee heard that the combined costs of four of these projects are now expected to cost £1.15 billion more than when the previous Committee reported. Each of these four projects will also be delayed further by between 58 and 129 months each.

Sellafield Ltd has begun retrieving
hazardous waste from the site, and in the longer term, this waste will be
stored in an underground offsite Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) capable
of storing the waste for thousands of years. However, the Committee found
that the opening date of the GDF has slipped from 2040 to the late 2050s.
For every decade of delay, additional buildings could need to be
constructed to accommodate short-term storage of the waste at a cost of
£500–760 million.

As well as the serious implications for the value for
money of the project, this delay makes the ambition to completely
decommission the Sellafield site in the next hundred years even more
challenging.

In addition to this, in August the GDF project was rated red
in its Delivery Confidence Assessment by NISTA, meaning “successful
delivery of the project appears to be unachievable.” DESNZ has since
acknowledged that the NDA is “undertaking some replanning to mitigate
risks and support ongoing progress” across all of its programmes,
including the GDF. We will be following any further developments closely
over the coming months.

 House of Commons 15th Oct 2025,
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmselect/cmpubacc/1300/report.html#heading-5

October 18, 2025 Posted by | decommission reactor, UK | Leave a comment

Exempt charities from nuclear levy on energy bills, government urged

Third Sector UK, 14 October 2025 by Emily Harle

Some charities could see their bills rise up to £2,500 a year

The government has been urged to provide an exemption for charities from a new levy that could cost some voluntary sector organisations up to £2,500 a year. 

The nuclear regulated asset levy, which will be introduced in November, was developed by the previous government to provide a return to investors in Sizewell C, a new nuclear power station that is being built in Suffolk over the next decade.

Although industries that use the most electricity have been exempted from the levy by the government, the energy regulator Ofgem said this week that local charities, including youth clubs and community centres, will have to pay the full amount.

The Social Investment Business estimates that the average charity with a building could see their bills rise by up to £240 annually, but added that some will face an increase of more than £2,500 per year as a result of the levy.

This rise in electricity bills “will add even more pressure to charities”, SIB said, adding that the sector was particularly vulnerable to increasing prices due to the low income of volunteer-led clubs and the “often-draughty” buildings available for community groups.

In April, SIB’s research found that local youth charities were paying as much as half of their entire budget just to cover utilities.

Nick Temple, chief executive of the SIB, said: “Adding yet more charges on top of charity electricity bills penalises our most vital community spaces at a time when they are already struggling. 

“The government must urgently provide an exemption to this new levy for charities, who are particularly vulnerable to rising costs. 

“They should drop this model of adding charges onto electricity all together, which is no longer fit-for-purpose and is slowing down the country’s transition to renewables and inflates everyone’s bills.”

SIB have also urged charities to contact their energy providers, adding that if a charity is on a variable tariff, it will see charges introduced from 1 November, while those on fixed tariffs will need to check with their provider.

Wellspring Settlement, a charity based in Bristol delivering a range of community services to local families and young children, is one charity under threat due to the new levy costs, facing a potential uplift of more than £2,500 per year…………………………………….https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/exempt-charities-nuclear-levy-energy-bills-government-urged/finance/article/1936061

October 17, 2025 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Could Trump’s peace capsize the undead British Empire?

Peace in the Middle East and the defeat in Ukraine will prove extremely embarrassing for Britain.

Alex Krainer, Oct 14, 2025, https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/could-trumps-peace-capsize-the-undead?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1063805&post_id=176048481&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ise1&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

It’s only been four days since the Israeli cabinet approved Donald Trump’s Middle Eastern peace deal. In spite of much entrenched pessimism and incidents like the suspicious death of four Qatari negotiators in Egypt, so far the regional players have taken the deal seriously and it seems that their commitment is for real. My hunch, which I shared in Friday’s TrendCompass report, was that this development could turn out to be a “massive defeat for the Empire,” and that if the peace holds “the implications for the region would be nothing short of massive.”

Apart from repurposing the region’s “unsinkable aircraft carrier,” which could complicate the Empire’s efforts in prevention of peace, it seems that Trump has now wrested the loyalty of states like Qatar, Egypt and Saudi Arabia away from the Empire. Here’s what I mean by that: it is important for us not to regard the United States as a monolith. By “the Empire” I’m referring to the City of London with its satellites on Wall Street, in Paris, Frankfurt, Basel, Tokyo, etc. Also, its lackeys in the British government along with the American Neocons Jake Sullivan, Victoria Nuland and Antony Blinken. It also includes the Empire’s minions staffing the key positions in the EU and NATO.

I believe that President Trump and his government (some of them at least), are NOT part of this imperial cabal. Of course, it is possible, as some say, that Trump is “controlled opposition” and that we’re witnessing an elaborate deception. However, I believe that this is unlikely. Such deception would be needless and overly elaborate; I can’t imagine why keeping it up would even be necessary. At any rate, Trump’s peace deal in the Middle East indicates that his government is real, not controlled, opposition and it has now put the imperial cabal in a bind: where were they while Trump and other leaders in the region worked to stop the genocide? Suddenly, they seem to be in a damage-control mode.

Scrambling for moral high grounds

UK’s education secretary Bridget Phillipson, who had vocally opposed any ceasefire in Gaza, went to SkyNews yesterday (Sunday, 12 October 2025) to claim credit for the Middle East peace deal:

“We have played the key role behind the scenes in shaping this. It’s right that we do so because it’s in all of our interests, including our own national interest, that we move toward a lasting peace in the region.”

When her interviewer asked her to specify, “when you say, ‘behind the scenes,’ – like what?” Phillipson launched into an eloquent-sounding but hollow word salad that sounded like a student explaining the plot of “Ana Karenina” after she never read the book:

“These are complex matters of diplomacy that we are involved in, but we do welcome and recognize the critical role that the American government played in moving us to this point…”

It’s complex, you see, so I don’t want to burden you with the details, but look how noble and magnanimous we are in welcoming and recognizing the role of the American government: they too contributed a little bit. But it seems that Ms. Phillipson either doesn’t know, or pretended she didn’t, that the Empire created Israel precisely for the purpose of preventing a lasting peace from breaking out in the region. If you’re in the Empire’s camp, you don’t want peace and that’s why you exerted no effort towards it. Then you explain the perpetual war you engineered as something that’s near-impossible to solve: it’s the “centuries-old hatreds” that are incomprehensible to us pure-hearted Westerners.

Then Trump swaggered into the region and solved it (at least for now), forcing the obvious question: why wasn’t this done at any point after 7 October 2023, hundreds of thousands of dead Palestinians ago? If it wasn’t too complicated for Trump, how was it too complicated all the sophisticated folks with posh accents in London? These uncomfortable questions are reason why Bridget Phillipson went to SkyNews yesterday. She herself spent months explaining why her government was staunchly against any ceasefire and did less than nothing to de-escalate the conflict.

Nobody’s buying it anymore

But her disingenuous attempt to usurp credit for the peace deal didn’t go unnoticed and it was torpedoed in very undiplomatic terms. U.S. Ambassador to Jerusalem, Mike Huckabee posted the clip of her statement on X and commented that, “I can assure you that she’s delusional. She can thank @realDonaldTrump just to set the record straight.” That post got 2.4 million views in under 24 hours. Even if it’s from Mike Huckabee, it’s not bad. For the British government, that was a humiliating rebuke, and it wasn’t the only one!

Italy’s Giorgia Meloni was sharper still, publicly blasting Phillipson’s boss Sir Keir: “If anything [Keir Starmer] harmed peace negotiations, trying to impose his master Tony Blair on Palestinians. Now he wants to get a photo op and claim he helped.” She added: “He should stop wasting his time meddling in international affairs and sort out his own country, the people are fed up.”

Namely, documents have been leaked online showing that Johnson has profited from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. According to The Guardian reports published on Friday, 10 October, Johnson visited Ukraine in September 2023 together with his billionaire donor Christopher Harborne, who donated £1 million to a private company he founded after resigning as Prime Minister. For Johnson, that was killing one stone with three birds: striking at Russia, contributing to depopulation (-1.7 million Ukrainian men) and making a buck quid in the process. No wonder Johnson felt as jubilant at the time (video at link):

It’s only a few bad apples, you see…

But the Middle East peace isn’t the only piece of bad news for London. There’s also Ukraine, which is being lost… Inevitably, if the Empire loses in Ukraine, it will also lose the opportunity to craft the dominant narrative. Britain’s role there, and particularly Boris Johnson’s consistent efforts to sabotage peace in April 2022, after only 5 weeks of hostilities, will prove extremely embarrassing. To contain the damage, it seems that the cabal is ready to throw Johnson overboard and cast the blame for the whole fiasco on him and another few bad apples.

Namely, documents have been leaked online showing that Johnson has profited from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. According to The Guardian reports published on Friday, 10 October, Johnson visited Ukraine in September 2023 together with his billionaire donor Christopher Harborne, who donated £1 million to a private company he founded after resigning as Prime Minister. For Johnson, that was killing one stone with three birds: striking at Russia, contributing to depopulation (-1.7 million Ukrainian men) and making a buck quid in the process. No wonder Johnson felt as jubilant at the time (video at link):

Johnson dismissed this report, calling it a “pathetic non-story” derived from an “illegal Russian hack.” Of course: everything we hate is Russian, so please disperse, there’s nothing to see here… But through history, losing a war came with severe costs, and today may be no different. However, rather than taking the pain itself, the Empire will attempt to cast the blame to its unruly minions and push them under the bus.

Then, the narrative will be changed once more: we’ve always only wanted to be at peace with Eurasia but for a handful of corrupt bad apples… Once we’ve dealt with them, we’ll join the victory parade and celebrate the peace in which we ourselves played the key role, you see, behind the scenes we did, of course. By now however, anyone who’s paid any attention can see through this sinister game.

We want to keep Ukraine fighting and desire an all-out war with Russia!

In all this, the Empire’s scriptwriters and propagandists always counted on the public having low IQs and a short attention spans. But in the age of the Internet and social media, the same formula no longer works. In addition to throwing Boris Johnson and Christopher Harborne overboard, they’ll also have to explain Lieutenant General Charlie Stickland’s Project Alchemy which brought together a whole group of bad apples from Britain’s academic, military and intelligence institutions to put forward an array of plans “to keep Ukraine fighting,” along with plans to “aggressively pursue” and “dismantle” independent media outlets.

Project Alchemy’s “elders” were united by a desire for an all-out war between Russia and the West. That’s a very monstrous and sinister desire: the last time they orchestrated such a war, some 60 million people perished across Europe. What could possibly be the reason for desiring such a thing? The elders were kind enough to spell it out: in order to “defeat Putin in Ukraine and set the conditions for the reshaping of an open international order of the future.” Here are the full 36 pages of their monstrous recommendations:

Ukraine’s Next Chapter – Elders Grand Strategy Options Paper.

The fact that any group of “elders” would take such a cavailer attitude with a world war begs the question of whether there are any good apples in their ranks at all? Or is being a degenerated genocidal maniac a job requirement where they work? Judging by the quality of characters that have floated up to the top in the British institutions of power, and by the enterprise’s track record around the world over the past 300 years, this definitely seems to be the case.

The same system promotes individuals like Tony Blair and Boris Johnson to the very top while mercilessly destroying those like Andrew Bridgen, George Galloway and Jeremy Corbyn is selecting for dishonesty, degeneracy, and ruthlessness. Being a bad apple is par for the course and probably has been for centuries.

Hopefully, with the Empire’s defeat in Ukraine and Trump’s peace in the Middle East, the old, undead Empire will finally capsize along with its cabal’s dreams of an all-out war against Russia. That should be a good day for the rest of humanity, including for the people of the British isles.

October 15, 2025 Posted by | politics international, UK | Leave a comment

Campaigners warn of ‘dangerous experiment’ as nuclear plans face backlash.

Tom Sinclair, 10 Oct 25, https://pembrokeshire-herald.com/124146/campaigners-warn-of-dangerous-experiment-as-nuclear-plans-face-backlash/

Climate Camp Cymru supports Llynfi Valley protest against small modular reactors – campaigners urge Pembrokeshire to stay alert

ENVIRONMENTAL activists from across Wales – including several from Pembrokeshire – joined forces with Climate Camp Cymru this summer to support the No Nuclear Llynfi campaign near Llangynwyd in the Llynfi Valley, South Wales.

The group is opposing plans by American company Last Energy to build four small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) on land within a mile of residential homes and two schools.

The company, a venture capital-backed start-up that has never built a reactor before, is currently seeking UK planning approval. Campaigners say it is deeply concerning that Last Energy is also suing the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, claiming its safety regulations are “overburdensome” – while applying similar pressure in the UK to reduce oversight and speed up development.

Concerns over waste and flood risk

No Nuclear Llynfi campaigners have highlighted several risks, including plans to store radioactive waste on-site indefinitely, and the fact that the proposed location lies below the water table in a Zone 3 flood risk area – the highest flood designation.

Other worries include the need for 24-hour armed security, the site’s proximity to homes and schools, and the potential use of generated power for data centres running artificial intelligence systems, rather than for local homes or industry.

 spokesperson for Climate Camp Cymru said the project “treats post-industrial communities as expendable,” adding that “people in the valleys, and in places like Pembrokeshire too, are being used as testing grounds for risky new energy technologies.”

Raising awareness

The summer camp, set up over the August bank holiday weekend, occupied open land near the proposed nuclear site. Volunteers raised banners along the A4063, distributed flyers, and knocked on around 1,000 doors to alert residents.

Most locals, campaigners said, were unaware of the nuclear proposal – despite claims by Last Energy that it had consulted the community. “There’s a legal duty to inform residents, and that simply hasn’t been met,” organisers said.

An open meeting at Maesteg Rugby Club on September 25 drew strong attendance and marked the beginning of organised local opposition.

Workshops and wider links

Throughout the weekend, the camp hosted workshops and talks from campaigners behind Save Kilvey Hill in Swansea – where activists are fighting a proposed adventure park development – and from CND, the Initiative for Nature Conservation Cymru (INCC), and academics from Cardiff University.

Discussions focused on linking environmental struggles across Wales, from open-cast mining and deforestation to speculative energy projects. Evenings featured live music and Welsh-language sessions celebrating Wales’ radical protest heritage.

Call for local action

Organisers say the success of the Llynfi camp shows the power of grassroots resistance. The camp was left clean and intact, with the landowner’s permission granted after the first day and support from nearby residents.

Pembrokeshire campaigners are now being encouraged to stay alert to similar proposals in the west. Sites such as Trawsfynydd and Wylfa are already under consideration for future SMR projects, and environmental groups warn that West Wales could be next.

Anyone interested in hosting or seeking support from next year’s Climate Camp Cymru can contact the group via email at climatecampcymru@proton.me.

October 14, 2025 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, UK | Leave a comment

UK small businesses and charities say nuclear levy could add thousands to bills.

Charge from next month expected to have disproportionate impact after energy-intensive industries given exemption.

Jillian Ambrose  Guardian, 13 Oct 25

British charities and small businesses have warned that a new levy on energy bills, intended to support the government’s nuclear power ambitions, could raise their costs by thousands of pounds a year.

The extra charge could mean a significant cost hike for charities and small businesses with high energy use, meaning community services may be cut and economic growth curtailed, according to trade groups.

For most charities, the levy, which takes effect in November, will mean an increase in costs of between £100 and £240 a year, but some could experience increases of up to £2,500, according to Social Investment Business, an organisation that offers loans and financial support to charities.

Nick Temple, the chief executive of Social Investment Business, said: “Adding yet more charges on top of charity electricity bills penalises our most vital community spaces at a time when they are already struggling.”

For small business, including those in hospitality, the extra costs could undermine growth in the UK economy and make the shift from fossil fuels to low-carbon electricity more expensive, according to trade associations.

The levy is designed to pay back investors in the Sizewell C nuclear project in Suffolk while the power plant is under construction.

Households can expect the levy to add about £12 a year to their energy bills, but organisations with high energy use will shoulder a greater cost burden. This will have a disproportionate impact on smaller businesses and charities with high energy demands because energy intensive industries such as steel, cement and glass-making have been granted exemption.

A Bristol-based community arts organisation, Spike Island, has been told to expect a hike of £1,ooo a year from the nuclear levy alone. The company, which provides subsidised studios for underrepresented artists, expects the extra costs to put a strain on its work……………………………………………………..

Business groups have also said that the costs are a “huge concern” for smaller companies, which they say will be forced to carry a disproportionate cost burden because larger companies were given exemptions………………………………………………………. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/12/uk-small-businesses-and-charities-say-nuclear-levy-could-add-thousands-to-bills

October 14, 2025 Posted by | business and costs, UK | Leave a comment

Labour investing in nuclear due to fear of Scottish independence.

 LABOUR may be investing hard in nuclear energy due to the fear of Scottish
independence, Stephen Flynn has suggested.

The SNP Westminster was speaking
at an event at SNP conference and took aim at the amount of cash the UK
Government has diverted from funding GB Energy to nuclear projects in
England.

Labour’s General Election manifesto in 2024 pledged £8.3
billion to GB Energy but Rachel Reeves effectively cut billions in funding
from the energy company — which is officially headquartered in Aberdeen,
although most jobs so far are in England – in June.

The Chancellor’s
spending review said a new body tasked with spearheading Britain’s
nuclear renaissance would receive £2.5bn of that funding for small modular
reactors (SMRs). She also confirmed a further £14.2 billion UK Government
investment in the Sizewell C nuclear power station in Sussex.

“I understand from a UK Government perspective why they might seek to go down that route because of the lack of indigenous energy production that they have,” Flynn told delegates. “And maybe there’s a fear in the back of their mind that if Scotland goes, they’re going to have to find some
electricity tonto to meet their own energy security requirements.”

In 2024, renewable energy accounted for about 70% of Scotland’s electricity
generation, which is significantly higher than England – which relies
more heavily on a mix that includes fossil fuels and nuclear power. Swinney
also hit out at the amount of Scottish families who are living in fuel
poverty despite Scotland being energy rich. “Scotland produces 6 times
more gas than it consumes, and 70% of our electricity comes from renewable sources,” he said. “So, I think all of us should be should be
questioning why we are such an energy originator and so many of our people are living in fuel poverty and why we’re not able to maximise that energy production in order to attract businesses and then, therefore, grow our economy.”

 The National 12th Oct 2025, https://www.thenational.scot/news/25536897.labour-investing-nuclear-due-fear-scottish-independence/

October 14, 2025 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Boldness is needed to take on toxicity of nuclear power.

 SCOTLAND’S nuclear facilities, civilian and military, are leaking. Is
this an occasional hazard to bear, as we resolutely defend and power
ourselves? Or another indicator of how much independence has to clean up the modernity of Scotland?

This week’s reports of radioactive water
rushing into the Caithness shore at Dounreay – containing Caesium-137, as
well as alpha- and non-alpha-emitting radionuclides – admittedly came
from a clean-up situation, the decommissioning of the plant itself. But the
context makes you shudder. These “accidental” releases – spewing from
some “underground facility” – were deemed a “very small fraction of
our normal discharges via authorised discharge routes”, says Nuclear
Restoration Services (NRS), the firm responsible. (By the way, according to
the Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory – a chilling vista of our
nation’s industrial filth – the “authorised” routes contain
Strontium-90 and tritium, some of the most dangerous by-products of nuclear generation).

Consider also last year’s leaks. They identified “corroded
steelwork in a building being used to store drums of radioactive sodium,
and leaks from low-level radioactive waste pits”, as reported in this
paper. It’s all a demonstration of the sheer toxicity of nuclear power
– as evident in its disassembly, as in its installation. And I can’t
not mention the 585 cracks in the graphic reactor core of the ageing
Torness nuclear plant in East Lothian, reported by The Ferret earlier this
year. This is a tiny bit less than the amount – counted across two
reactors – that compelled the shutdown of Hunterston B in 2022. Much
technocratic reassurance from the French owner-operators EDF about safety, until some projected cessation in the early 2030s.

But I’m not exactly
consoled. Are you? And if we need investigative reporting to unearth leaks
in the notoriously defensive nuclear energy sector, imagine the digging
required to get the same from our nuclear warfare facilities.

The Ferret again triumphed in August after a six-year battle, releasing proof of a 2019 irradiated spill from burst pipes at Royal Navy’s Coulport nuclear bombstore, pouring deep into Loch Long.

 The National 11th Oct 2025, https://www.thenational.scot/politics/25535392.boldness-needed-take-toxicity-nuclear-power/

October 13, 2025 Posted by | environment, UK | Leave a comment

RADIOACTIVE material was accidentally released at Scotland’s Dounreay nuclear. 

An investigation was launched in June 2024 after Nuclear Restoration Services
(NRS) – the firm which is responsible for the north Caithness complex’s
clean-up and demolition – informed the Scottish Environmental Protection
Agency (Sepa) of a potential leak of contaminated water. Scotland’s
environmental regulator confirmed that a “small leak” from a carbon bed
filter had occurred. Three different radioactive substances –
alpha-emitting Radionuclides, alpha-emitting Radionuclides and Caesium-137
– were all released, according to the Scottish Pollutant Release
Inventory (SPRI) data. Monitoring from NRS didn’t detect any increase in
radioactivity in groundwater downstream. But Sepa found that the firm had
breached environmental regulations and has ordered it to review its
groundwater monitoring arrangements and “establish the extent of
contamination” which has arisen from the leak.

 The National 7th Oct 2025, https://www.thenational.scot/news/25525191.radioactive-water-highland-nuclear-site-leaked-major-breach/

October 10, 2025 Posted by | environment, UK | Leave a comment

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