Jamie Reed

This article is part of the Nuclear Spin project of Spinwatch.

Jamie Reed, MP

Jamie Reed has been the Labour Party MP for Copeland since 2005. From 2011 until May 2015 Reed also served as the shadow minister for health.

In the 2015 election Reed was re-elected with a majority of 2,564.

Background

He was appointed MP for the Copeland Constituency in 2005, after the retirement of the vehemently pro-nuclear incumbent Jack Cunningham. Copeland is the local constituency for the controversial Sellafield plant so it is hardly surprising that its MPs are the strongest pro-nuclear proponents there are.

He is also a local to the area. Born in Whitehaven, he was educated at Whitehaven School before studying at Manchester Metropolitan University and then Leicester University where he completed an MA in Mass Communications.

A Nuclear Spindoctor

Reed then put his spindoctor skills to good use by becoming BNFL's press-officer for four years. During his time there he defended the company's radioactive discharges into the sea, and BNFL's "terrifying loopholes in security" at the Sellafield site exposed by the media just weeeks after the September 11th terrorist attacks in America.

Reed was not the only pro-nuclear spin doctor chosen by Labour to represent the Copeland seat. The public relations in-house magazine PR Week wrote a story on the Labour selection process to replace Cunningham: "Stuart Bruce of Bruce Marshall Associates informs us he was one of four people on an all-PR shortlist alongside Bell Pottinger board director and former special adviser to Cunningham, Tim Walker, and Thomas Docherty, another BNFL PR man. What this can mean for the re-elected Labour government's commitment to pump billions into a raft of new nuclear power stations, we couldn't possibly say".

A Nuclear MP

On election Reed said that one of his major tasks was to fight for a new generation of nuclear plants in the UK. Reed has long lobbied officials in Whitehall over what he calls the "compelling case for nuclear". In November 2005 he told his local paper: "The evidence in support of a UK nuclear renaissance is growing week by week."

In his record in the UK Parliament Register of Interests, Reed records a "Donation to my constituency party received from GMB trade union". The GMB Union is pro-nuclear.

Both the GMB and Reed welcomed Tony Blair's review of energy and the possible resumption of nuclear power. Peter Kane from the GMB said: "This is a major step forward not only with regard to the possible employment opportunity within the industry but also to the government's commitment on reducing carbon emissions."

Reed said that he also welcomed "the Prime Minister's bold and necessary leadership on what will be a contentious issue. Britain pioneered nuclear generation as a world leader and Calder Hall - the world's first commercial scale nuclear station - is in my constituency. Britain is still a world leader in the field of nuclear technology, and we have one of the most skilled, committed, safe workforces within any industry anywhere in the world. This must be built upon, not allowed to wither."

Contracts for difference

In 2012 when Secretary of State Ed Davey outlined proposed policies such as 'contracts for difference', designed to attract investors for Britain's much-needed £110bn of new investment, Reed said:

“I hope this will now bring forward the necessary investments in nuclear from the market as I believe it will. “After working closely with potential nuclear investors for many years, they’ve always made it clear that they required this kind of operating framework. “We need nuclear generation not only in order to be able to meet our carbon emission targets but to better secure our national energy supplies as well. “Crucially, new nuclear investments will also help re-balance our economy nationally but more so locally. “These investments are absolutely key to West Cumbria’s future".

Affiliations

• Westminster Foundation for Democracy