SCOTLAND has a “long history of nuclear power” that the UK Government wants to build upon, the Energy Secretary said in correspondence released through Freedom of Information (FOI) laws.
However, in a letter to Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar released under the FOI act, Ed Miliband said this would only happen if the Scottish Government changes its policy.
As it stands, the SNP-run administration opposes any new nuclear plants north of the Border – as well as opposing nuclear weaponry being stored on the Clyde.
Scottish Labour figures have in recent weeks been U-turning on their previous positions on nuclear weapons in order to align with Keir Starmer’s UK policies – and have similarly echoed the UK leadership on nuclear energy.
On February 6, the day that Starmer announced plans to “rip up the rules” to allow more building of nuclear plants south of the Border, Sarwar urged First Minister John Swinney to do the same.
The following day, Sarwar wrote to UK Energy Secretary Miliband about the issue, an FOI request submitted by the SNP has revealed. It is the only correspondence between Sarwar and the UK Energy Department on nuclear since the General Election.
The Scottish Labour leader said in his letter that it is “not the archaic planning laws holding back our energy potential – but the intransigence of the ideologically rigid Scottish Government”.
He went on: “The result of this is the withholding of potentially billions of pounds of investment in Scotland and the creation of new jobs.
“I am writing to you today to ask if the Scottish Government was to end this ideological opposition to nuclear power, would the UK Labour Government welcome this development and work with the Scottish Government to deliver this much needed investment to Scotland?”
Responding, Miliband said that Scotland had a “long history of nuclear power generation” which he wanted to build upon.
After the July General Election, Scottish Secretary Ian Murray repeatedly refused to rule out ignoring devolution to push through the development of new nuclear sites in Scotland. However, Miliband appeared to do so in his letter to Sarwar.
“I am grateful for your support for these proposals and entirely agree that development of new nuclear power is essential for energy security, good jobs, and investment in Scotland and the wider United Kingdom,” the Energy Secretary said.
“Nuclear is one of the most reliable, secure, low-carbon sources of electricity, and will play an essential role in our future energy system as we seek to achieve our world-leading mission for clean power by 2030. That is why this government strongly supports the development of new nuclear power and wants to see new projects developed in all corners of the country.”
He went on: “Scotland has a long history of nuclear power generation, with Torness Nuclear Power Station playing a critical role in the UK’s energy system since coming online in 1988.
“By 2024 the site had provided Scotland and the rest of the UK with an estimated 298 Terawatt Hours of electricity, avoiding 146 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions. We want to build on this legacy to ensure that new nuclear plays a central role in our clean power mission.
“I appreciate your support for new nuclear and can assure you that in the event Scotland changed its policy on new nuclear, we would seek to work with the Scottish Government to make new nuclear happen, with all the benefits for low carbon generation and jobs that it could provide.”
Responding to the exchange, SNP MSP Jackie Dunbar said Sarwar “has been silent on Grangemouth and compensation for WASPI women, but he appears to have found his voice on nuclear”.
“Nuclear power stations are exorbitantly expensive and produce vast quantities of radioactive waste which remains dangerous for thousands of years; and yet the Labour Party wants to put them in your backyard,” she went on.
“After a myriad of broken promises to bring energy bills down by £300, bills are rising under Labour. Nuclear power is not the solution.
“Scottish Labour appear content to roll over on Keir Starmer’s command – but renewables are cheaper, safer, quicker to deploy, and support more employment than nuclear; and that’s why this SNP government has blocked the development of nuclear power stations, instead tripling investment in the likes of offshore wind.
"While Anas Sarwar repeatedly puts his party’s interests before Scotland’s, the SNP will oppose any efforts to dismiss them and continue to invest in a brighter, renewable energy future."
In 2022, the Tory-run UK government said it would not overrule Scottish ministers to build a new nuclear plant north of the Border, despite also considering building a nuclear plant in Ayrshire.
In 2024, former Scottish secretary Alister Jack told the Lords Constitution Committee that he had asked the Department for Energy and Net Zero to plan for a nuclear reactor to be built in Scotland as part of a UK-wide programme which would ignore SNP concerns.
