Going nuclear

The government is building 12 new nuclear reactors, generating a total of 16GW, at a cost of at least £60 billion. We already have 15 reactors, so why the sudden increase? One issue is that the current reactors will almost all be shut down by 2030 so need to be replaced, but why nuclear?

One very good reason is security of supply, an even bigger issue now that Article 50 has been invoked. The UK imports electricity from France and the Netherlands, with them supplying up to 55% of our needs by 2025. What is the use of going on about 'sovereignty' when another country has their hand on the light switch?

Another reason is the UK's commitment to climate-friendly energy sources. That is not just self-sacrifice it is self-interest - London is at serious risk from rising sea levels.

If you are against nuclear energy then the good news is that things aren't going too well. Toshiba is meant to be building a plant in Moorside but has announced serious financial problems, so it isn't clear what will happen to that one. The French company EDF is building a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. but they are also having financial problems, not to mention the explosion at one of their new reactors (using the same design). Fortunately a number of the other planned reactors will be built by the Chinese, who probably won't be going insolvent any time soon. Made in Britain? Well, it isn't any different from our car industry.

If that wasn't enough then Brexit is going to cause even more problems. The UK government intends to leave Euratom - the European atomic agency - as it comes under the European Court of Justice, and Mrs May won't have a bar of that. However leaving Euratom will mean negotiating new treaties with overseas nuclear partners, otherwise they will not be able to work with us - for example, help build new power stations. More treaties to negotiate - or maybe EDF could slap something together in the next 24 months.

We may not even to be able to buy the fuel we need for them.

Let's hope the government is quick off the mark on this, but maybe you should stock up on candles just in case.