The UK Conservative Party have overseen a “renaissance in the nuclear industry”, the Prime Minister has said, after the minister in charge of the sector said the Government should have set out plans for its future “years ago”.
Rishi Sunak visited BAE Systems Submarines in Barrow-in-Furness with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, after declaring a “critical national endeavour” to secure the nuclear industry’s future.
Number 10 hopes the money will create more than 8,000 career opportunities to help the sector fill 40,000 new roles by the end of the decade.
During the visit, the Prime Minister was asked about comments to Times Radio earlier on Monday by nuclear minister Andrew Bowie, who acknowledged plans for the industry were long overdue.
Mr Sunak told reporters: “What we have seen under the Conservatives has been a renaissance in the nuclear industry and that’s because the Conservative Party is one that unequivocally backs nuclear power and our nuclear deterrent.
“That just hasn’t been the case under the last Labour government.
“These decisions do take time, but if you look at what’s happened since 2010, we have green-lighted Sizewell C (and) Hinckley Point, so two nuclear power stations, we are making progress on small modular reactors and we have recommitted to our nuclear deterrent and a new generation of nuclear submarines and a replacement warhead.
“All of that has happened under a Conservative Government.”
The Prime Minister also accused the UK Labour Party of having a “basically equivocal relationship” with nuclear power, citing a lack of investment before 2010 and former leader Jeremy Corbyn’s opposition to the nuclear deterrent.
He said: “Our nuclear capability underpins both our national security, when it comes to our nuclear deterrent and nuclear submarines, but also our energy security and the importance of nuclear power for the future.
“That’s why today we’re making a transformational investment in our nuclear capability to safeguard the country’s future, making sure, together with industry, that we create thousands more apprenticeships, graduate schemes, PhDs, building our nuclear skills base, but also investing in Barrow.”
The Prime Minister said the investment was about the “long-term transformation of Barrow”.
He added: “It’s important that Barrow remains a fanatic place for people to live, work and raise a family because that will help keep our country safe in the long term.
“It’s mission critical for our country that Barrow’s future is bright.
Earlier, Mr Bowie said: “I make no bones about it, we should have done this years ago. We are running to catch up.
“But we have just this year delivered our civil nuclear road map, we have announced our intention to build a third gigawatt project, we are investing £350 million in new nuclear power to ease Vladimir Putin out of the nuclear fuels market, we are actually committed to delivering small modular reactors through our competition which will conclude this year.
“But of course this should have been done years ago, which is why we are having to take the action in the way that we are right now.”
Firms including BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, EDF and Babcock are partnering with the Government to invest around £763 million in skills, jobs and education for the defence and civil nuclear industries.
Mr Sunak has announced a new fund backed by £20 million of public money to support growth in Barrow-in-Furness, the Cumbrian town that is home to Britain’s nuclear submarine programme.
This will commit to a further £180 million a year over the next decade, which Downing Street says would provide grants to local organisations and improvements to transport and health outcomes in the area.
Ahead of his visit to Barrow, Mr Sunak said: “Safeguarding the future of our nuclear deterrent and nuclear energy industry is a critical national endeavour.”
The Defence Nuclear Enterprise Command Paper, which the Government says will set out for the first time the full breadth of activity aimed at sustaining and modernising Britain’s continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent, will also be laid in Parliament on Monday.
The announcement follows weeks of criticism over the Government’s resistance to calls for an increase in defence spending amid concerns about the global risk posed by countries such as Russia and China.
In a visible sign of unease within the Conservative ranks, Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan and security minister Tom Tugendhat earlier this month said a “much greater pace” of investment was needed, while Defence Secretary Grant Shapps called for military spending to rise to 3% of GDP.
Mr Sunak has said the Government has already announced the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War and “recently topped up with billions of pounds to strengthen our nuclear enterprise and rebuild stockpiles”.
John Healey, Labour’s shadow defence secretary, welcomed the Government’s commitment but said Labour had “long argued” for ministers to secure jobs in Barrow and that Britain would be “better defended” under his party.
But SNP defence spokesperson Martin Docherty-Hughes MP condemned the plans to “waste another £200 million” on nuclear and accused both main parties of focusing on “the wrong priorities”.
“It is grotesque to throw another £200 million down the drain when the Tories and Labour Party both claim there is no money to improve our NHS, to help families with the cost of living or to properly invest in our green energy future,” he said.
