Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Whitehaven & Workington, Josh MacAlister, has condemned the Government for what he calls a “shocking betrayal” of West Cumbria over new nuclear.
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Information revealed in answers to Parliamentary Questions tabled by Labour MP Sarah Jones on behalf of Josh MacAlister shows “at best, disinterest and disengagement, and at worst, complete negligence” on the part of the Government, says Josh, speaking exclusively to the Whitehaven News.
- The Government acknowledged that proposals have been made by Solway Community Power Company to build small modular reactors on a site adjacent to Sellafield and that multiple meetings have taken place between Government and Community Power Company – facts denied by a local Conservative MP.
- The Government admitted that despite receiving proposals and holding multiple meetings, they have made no assessment of Solway Community Power Company’s £6 billion plan to build two SMRs on the site near Sellafield.
- The Government also admitted that they made no economic impact assessment following the collapse of the NuGen deal in 2018 to assess the impact this would have on electricity generation, job creation and investment in West Cumbria.
- Finally, the Government was forced to acknowledge that they have no idea how many projects or proposals have been made for nuclear development on the Moorside site.
Josh said:
“I asked Labour’s frontbench team to submit these questions because I suspected they would be very revealing.
“What the answers show is, despite warm words from Ministers, the Government has done nothing to progress new nuclear power here.
“No thought was given to the impact of the collapse of the NuGen deal. No assessment has been made of a £6 billion proposal to build two small modular reactors. And the Government still will not allow the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to sell land near Sellafield for the project. It is a shocking betrayal of West Cumbria which shows at best, disinterest and disengagement, and at worst, complete negligence.
“I urge local people to beware false promises from the Tories about delivering new nuclear power at the next General Election and judge them on what they’ve done over the last 14 years, which is nothing.
“Labour will turbocharge development of new nuclear power stations and if I am lucky enough to be elected as your Labour MP I will move heaven and earth to get West Cumbria to the front of the queue. We deserve nothing less.”
The answers came as the Government announced funding in the Budget on 6th March to purchase two sites elsewhere in the country for nuclear development.
Josh MacAlister MP 