Labour remains committed to nuclear power, the party’s environment spokesperson has insisted.
Sue Hayman, shadow secretary of state for the environment, told a fringe meeting at this week’s Labour conference that nuclear energy is an essential component in any drive to cut emissions.
The meeting, which took place just hours after Labour had backed bringing forward the net-zero emissions target by 20 years to 2030, was sponsored by the Nuclear Industries Association (NIA).
Pointing to research carried out for the shadow cabinet on the energy mix that will be required to meet net-zero emissions, Hayman said: “There is no possibility of renewable energy covering the whole of our energy needs by those quite challenging targets. If we are going to be carbon neutral, nuclear has to be part of that energy mix.
“We need a plan and nuclear has to be part of that plan.
“This is where Labour is coming from,” she said adding that nuclear power is required in order to ensure that Labour’s net-zero goal is a “realistic” one.
And Hayman, whose coastal Cumbrian constituency is located close to the area that has been at the heart of the British nuclear industry over more than six decades, accused the government of dragging its feet on the sector.
“It’s really disappointing that the government hasn’t grasped the nettle on this. It’s not like nuclear power stations can be built over night: these are major infrastructure projects.
“They don’t seem to have grasped the urgency of this and instead of investing in fracking they should be investing in nuclear.
“We can’t drag our feet on this any longer.”
Peter McIntosh, national officer for energy for the union Unite, expressed concern that shadow business and energy secretary Rebecca Long Baily has not been more full-throated in her support for nuclear.
Adding that the 2030 aspiration backed by Labour is “very, very challenging,” he said: “The Labour Party need to use the word nuclear.”
Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the NIA, said nearly half of the UK’s electricity was being generated by gas plants earlier on the day when storms meant that wind speeds across England were high.
The net-zero goal means there must be a “massive expansion” of all forms of low carbon generation rather than setting one technology against another, he said: “If we are serious about this we are going to need all of it to get to net zero.
“This is about getting to be as low carbon as possible, not about making false distinctions and false debates.
“If we want to reduce emissions we have to get to a position where the gas we use is to make up the difference rather than the mainstay.”