WARRINGTON North MP and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Nuclear, Charlotte Nichols, has praised the Government as it announced major investment in the UK’s Nuclear Industry.
The Government is set to create 10,000 jobs as it announced a £14.2 billion investment to build Sizewell C nuclear plant as part of the Spending Review, ending years of delay and uncertainty.
The Government’s mission is to protect family finances by replacing the UK’s dependency on fossil fuel markets, controlled by dictators, with homegrown power that we control. Clean, home-grown power at Sizewell C will help support the UK’s energy security.
The funding was confirmed at the GMB Union Congress ahead of the Government’s Spending Review, as the Energy Secretary vows a ‘golden age’ of nuclear to boost the UK’s energy security. The Government’s investment will go towards creating 10,000 jobs, including 1,500 apprenticeships, and support thousands more jobs across the UK. Sizewell C has already signed £330 million in contracts with local companies and will boost supply chains across the UK with 70% of contracts predicted to go to 3,500 British suppliers – supporting new jobs in construction, welding, and hospitality.
Warrington is currently home to over 6000 jobs in the nuclear industry, many of which are based in Birchwood. This announcement will only help our local industry to grow.
ms Nichols said: “Some very good news today for the nuclear industry in Warrington North and for the country, as the Government announces the biggest nuclear building programme in a generation: Investing in Sizewell C, building one of the first SMR fleets in Europe, and supporting fusion research.
“These decisions create thousands of jobs, many of which will be based in Warrington as the country’s centre of nuclear excellence, with firm commitments ending years of delay and uncertainty that have held the industry back.
“The Hinkley Point C project alone has driven hundreds of millions of pounds of direct investment into businesses located in Birchwood Park, and kick-starting the new nuclear renaissance puts us in an enviable position for driving significantly more investment still! As Chair of the Nuclear APPG, working with the Government and with industry, I’ll continue to champion our local sector to ensure we can see the maximum possible benefit from today’s news.”
Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change said: “Sizewell C will power the equivalent of around 6 million homes with clean, home-grown energy for 60 years, and will be a jobs and growth engine for Britain, supporting 10,000 jobs at peak construction and creating 1,500 apprenticeships—well-paid, highly skilled jobs in East Anglia and communities across the country. I thank the GMB, Unite, and Prospect trade unions, which are brilliant champions for the nuclear industry. Sizewell has already signed £4.2 billion-worth of contracts with 311 companies, and will eventually work with 3,500 suppliers in all four nations of the UK.
“I recognise the contribution of my hon. Friends the Members for Lowestoft (Jess Asato) and for Ipswich (Jack Abbott) in advocating for this project and my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) for her advocacy for nuclear as a whole. I also acknowledge the work of the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie), who is not in his place, when he was Minister for nuclear.”
Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, added: “This new nuclear programme will give the country the jobs, the economic growth and the energy security we need to ensure a secure and reliable power supply for the future. This announcement shows the government is serious about new nuclear, and realising the economic benefits that come with it, and will be welcomed in communities the length and breadth of Britain”.
The Government’s investment means the equivalent of around six million of today’s homes will be powered with clean homegrown energy from Sizewell C. The investment in clean, homegrown power brings to an end decades of dithering and delay, with the government backing the builders in the drive for energy security and kick-starting economic growth.
The announcement comes as the Government is set to confirm one of Europe’s first Small Modular Reactor programmes. This comes alongside record investment in R&D for fusion energy, worth over £2.5 billion over five years. Taken together with Sizewell C, this delivers the biggest nuclear building programme in a generation.
