Prospect champions nuclear at Parliamentary reception
More than 50 Prospect energy reps were joined by MPs from across the political spectrum and invited industry stakeholders at a special Prospect event celebrating skills in the nuclear industry at the Atlee Room in the House of Lords on Tuesday, 5 July.
Prospect represents 12,000 workers in the nuclear energy sector and has long championed the role of nuclear power alongside renewable energy in delivering the UK’s transition away fossil fuels and towards Net Zero.
As well as championing nuclear skills, the reception, which was co-hosted by Prospect, Baroness Hayman and Virginia Crosbie MP, looked at the government’s future ambitions for nuclear and its role in the recently published British Energy Security Strategy.
Prospect senior deputy general secretary Sue Ferns said: “To achieve the ambitious targets set out in the Government’s recent Energy Security Strategy, we must ensure that existing expertise is retained and that the next generation of nuclear workers is equipped with the skills to deliver this transformation in the UK’s energy supply mix.”
Speakers at the reception included:
- Jonathan Reynolds MP, shadow secretary for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
- Virginia Crosbie MP
- Baroness Sue Hayman
- Arun Khuttan, Prospect rep and Nuclear Institute’s Young Generation Network
- Professor John Fyfe, YGN patron
Outlining Labour’s plans for energy, shadow BEIS secretary Jonathan Reynolds MP, spoke about the importance of a Just Transition, a Green New Deal and the need to extend the lives of existing nuclear power stations, including at Hartlepool and Heysham.
The two parliamentarians who co-hosted the event with Prospect also made brief remarks.
Virginia Crosbie, Conservative MP for Ynys Môn in North Wales, talked about the benefits that a proposed new nuclear power plant at Wylfa would have for her local constituents.
While Baroness Hayman, a former Labour MP for Workington, was able to extol the benefits that nuclear had brought to Cumbria in terms of good, well-paid, high-skilled jobs.
Prospect member Arun Khuttan told the reception about his pride and experience of working in the nuclear industry, and the role that he plays in the Nuclear Institute’s Young Generation Network.
Professor John Fyfe, a patron of the YGN, who has 30 years’ experience in energy policy and has advised the UK government on restructuring nuclear industry was also in attendance at the reception.
Commenting on the event, Virginia Crosbie MP said: “I was delighted to be part of Prospect’s nuclear industry reception at the Houses of Parliament and speak about the Government’s ambitions for new nuclear in the UK. New nuclear power generation will be a key factor in our goal of achieving net zero by 2050 alongside renewable energy sources.
“It is also important for left-behind communities like my constituency of Ynys Môn which have seen previous nuclear plants decommissioned but not replaced. A new nuclear plant at our site of Wylfa would regenerate Ynys Môn, bringing economic stability and offering hundreds of high-quality long-term jobs for our young people.
“It was a pleasure to respond to the questions raised at the reception and to work with Prospect to highlight this hugely important sector.”
