Liberal Democrats Abandon Pledge to Oppose New Nuclear Power Sites

It now appears that the Liberal Democrats have discarded one of their most distinctive election pledges. They will not stand in the way of a new generation of power stations now. This was made clear by Chris Huhne, the new energy minister. The Liberal Democrat MP, who had previously described atomic power as nothing more than failed technology, said that the new coalition government with the Conservatives believed a new construction program could go ahead, as long as it was done without financial support from the state.

Huhne went on to explain that it would be entirely up to the nuclear industry in the first instance. This is because they have to decide whether or not they are able to build nuclear power stations without new public subsidy. The energy minister also said that this is a coalition agreement that has always involved compromise on both sides. There are a whole series of compromises, which have been struck in this agreement that, he thinks, are obviously unpleasant for each of the parties.

Under a coalition agreement signed earlier this week, the Liberal Democrats agreed not to vote against Conservative proposals to build new nuclear power stations to replace the current aging plants. The pay-off of such a compromise was to reshape British politics and protect the economic recovery.

As of right now, UK nuclear reactors generate about a fifth off the country’s electricity needs. However, by 2025, all but one of these is expected to be shut down. With time starting to run out to build these new reactors, the Conservatives announced some measures before the election to speed up the planning process to stop protesters from delaying their construction.