Editorial

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Editorial Philip Dewhurst NIA Chairman The strong statement of Government support for new nuclear build in July’s Energy Review is reinforced by a major swing in parliamentary attitudes towards nuclear revealed in the latest polling data from Ipsos MORI. In a survey of MPs’ views on nuclear energy some remarkable findings show increasing favourability and positive outlook across the political divide. The headline results show support for new nuclear build among all MPs standing at 61% (up 16% since last summer’s survey) while opposition has substantially dropped to 22% (down 19%). There is a continuing high-level of support among Conservative MPs - some of 87% of those questioned said nuclear should be an energy source of the future. Perhaps more eye-catching still is the result showing 81% of all MPs believe nuclear will be a major contributor to the UK’s future energy mix. But the most significant feature of the polling was the major positive shift in Labour  MPs’ attitudes to nuclear power. The poll shows 60% of Labour MPs support the building of new nuclear power stations to replace those being phased out (up from just 35% last year), while apparent opposition among Labour ranks has collapsed to just 23% (45% last year). By anyone’s standards these are remarkable findings. The poll, commissioned by the NIA and published during the conference season in September, help the industry to pinpoint trends and to plan accordingly. These results reveal an unmistakable groundswell of parliamentary support for a future nuclear role in the energy mix. They reveal favourability for nuclear power is at its most positive under the current government, and they reveal the two main reasons why…that nuclear is needed to secure the UK’s future energy needs and to fill the looming energy gap. They are hugely encouraging indicators and demonstrate an emerging cross-party consensus and support for our industry going forward. We should feel buoyed by this positive shift in our favour, and work together with renewed enthusiasm towards the critical challenges that face us over the coming months and years.

 

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