Open letter calls on Prime Minister to launch Great British Nuclear programme

To mark the start of Nuclear Week in Parliament, Prospect has coordinated an open letter calling on the government to launch a fully funded Great British Nuclear programme to tackle our energy crisis.

Read the full letter below.

Dear Prime Minister,

Chris Skidmore’s Net Zero Review has reaffirmed that investing in new nuclear is a ‘no-regrets option’ for any government serious about achieving net zero and energy security.

Britain must not sleepwalk into the familiar pattern of delays and broken promises that have held back our nuclear ambitions in the past.

Last year’s British Energy Security Strategy set out ambitious plans to deliver 24GW of nuclear capacity by 2050, supplying up to a quarter of our energy needs and creating thousands of highly skilled green jobs across the country alongside a major expansion of renewables.

However, progress has stalled on establishing Great British Nuclear, the body tasked with implementing this vision of a significant programme of reactors both big and small.

We do not have time to spare. All but one of the UK’s existing nuclear reactors are due to retire by the end of the decade and this capacity needs to be replaced. Meanwhile, the global race for investment in next generation nuclear technologies is accelerating, spurred on by the Inflation Reduction Act in the US.

As Chris Skidmore set out, Britain’s energy crisis demands ‘stable, long-term policy’. We call on the Prime Minister to launch a fully funded Great British Nuclear programme as a matter of priority.

Sue Ferns, Senior Deputy General Secretary, Prospect trade union

Rob Massy, UK President, Westinghouse

Alastair Evans, Director of Corporate Affairs, Rolls-Royce SMR

Henri Murison, Chief Executive, Northern Powerhouse Partnership

Charlotte Nichols, Member of Parliament for Warrington North and Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliament Group on Nuclear Energy

Mark Menzies, Member of Parliament for Fylde

Simon Fell, Member of Parliament for Barrow and Furness

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride

Lord Ravensdale