Sunday, January 06, 2008

The Nuclear Power Joke rumbles on

The Independent on Sunday has a rather interesting story about the development of nuclear energy policy from the Government. They say that the Government is about to publish their White Paper recommending we build more nuclear power plants (now there's a surprise!) and part of it will include what it is calling bribes for local community to accept greater dumping of nuclear waste in their areas.

What is interesting in this whole sage is that there is also an article in the Sunday Times which accuses Brown of running an 18th Century-style family clique at the top of Government. As I read it, before the Sindy's article, I thought to myself how they had missed the Nuclear Family Affair at the top as well.

Most people know that consultation on nuclear was a sham designed to make money for yet more of Gordon's friends and produce an already known outcome. Now, it seems that, just in case anyone gets a little upset, they're going to throw cash at people to keep them sweet instead.

8 comments:

James Higham said...

I'm very upset. Could you forward my name, Dizzy?

Anonymous said...

Its more about where they will put them now.I would suggest that they are built only in the constituency's of cabinet ministers ensuring their interest in safety rather than just profit.
This is another of Bliars ideas where is the bruun vision?

Alan Douglas said...

"Gordon's friends" - shurely shome mishtake ?

Alan Douglas

Savonarola said...

The Brown small cabal of advisers story is from The London Review of Books and is based on an article by David Runciman a contempory of David Cameron at Eton.

The ST reports that the best Bhutto to lead the PPP is Fatima Bhutto, Benazir's niece. Benazir was complicit in the muder of Fatima's father. This story based on an article by Tariq Ali in LRB.

LRB subject of much news copy for the DTP.

Old BE said...

Nuclear stations can't be planned, approved and built before the next election. The Tories should pre-empt them as they have done with ID cards and say "we will cancel any approvals when we come in".

That will scare EDF et al off nicely.

Anonymous said...

In the 1950's whilst working for the National Coal Board the information was that Britain had 500 years supply of coal left.As it is now possible to build carbon neutral coal fired power stations surely it would make sense to open up our coal mines again.These mines produced enough fuel to power the country in gas as well.So it beggars belief that we are contemplating nuclear energy with the horrendous problems of waste disposal when we could be self sufficient in energy and not beholding to Europe or Russia.

haddock said...

If we don't have some nuclear power stations very soon you may well be restricted to blogging just an hour or two a day.
I caught just a bit of a quote from one of the US politicians thismorning... the gist of which was that the US should develop its own oil and power supplies so that they could tell the arabs that "the US needed their oil about as much as we need their sand"

not a bad policy for us to follow either.

Anonymous said...

Not that the nuclear power stations are gonna be built "very soon", haddock. Nuclear cannot and will not bridge the energy gap, as the gap will be upon us well before the nuclear stations are ready to go onstream. (Hutton said he hoped before 2020, but no nuclear plant has ever been built on time, ever)
I'm with Michael Meacher when he said he can't decide if nuclear is a white elephant or a red herring...