Nuclear spin

This article is part of the Nuclear Spin project of Spinwatch. Welcome Welcome to NuclearSpin, a website that tracks the companies, people and organisations behind the campaign to build new nuclear power stations in the UK and the rest of the world. It aims to provide information about the techniques and tactics they use to persuade the public that we need more nuclear power. The site also provides information about other people, organisations and companies influencing the debate about nuclear energy. NuclearSpin is a free encyclopedia, written collaboratively by a wide variety of volunteers and independent researchers, and is part of Powerbase. About us Ten years ago, there was little prospect of new nuclear power stations being built in the UK. Today, the nuclear industry believes it is on the brink of building new plants across the country. So what happened? NuclearSpin was set up in 2006 to track a massive lobbying campaign that the nuclear industry had launched. In that same year, the British Government began a public consultation that raised the possibility of new nuclear power stations for the first time in many years. Even though the High Court ruled in 2007 that the Government’s consultation was "misleading, seriously flawed, manifestly inadequate and procedurally unfair", and its plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations were "unlawful", Ministers still pushed on. NuclearSpin showed how the Labour Government helped the nuclear industry and documented the links between powerful politicians, such as Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Planning Minister Yvette Cooper, and nuclear insiders. In 2008, the site was expanded to look at the push for nuclear in other countries, expose The_Secret_Pro-Nuclear_Push_In_Schools and explain why Nuclear is not the Answer to Climate Change. Nuclear power is now central to the British government’s plans for future energy. But our politicians are not being straight with us about the cost of nuclear power or its safety. For example, the coalition agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in May 2010 said there would no public subsidies for nuclear – but the Government is now in discussions about “contracts guaranteeing subsidies for up to 40 years”. We explore this in on 2012 briefing Broken Promises: Subsiding the Nuclear Industry. The Government also colluded with the Nuclear Industry Association to play down the safety implications of the nuclear accident at Fukushima in Japan in 2011. In July 2012, the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee concluded that public does not trust the Government to tell the trust about nuclear power. It said "the Government's position as an advocate for nuclear power makes it difficult for the public to trust it as an impartial source of information”. This site is designed to help you see through the nuclear spin. If you'd like to help us by becoming a contributor, please email our managing editor melissa.jones@powerbase.info

NuclearSpin Categories Individuals Organisations Companies PR, Lobbying and Consultancy firms NuclearSpin News NuclearSpin investigations and documents from this website have been covered by: The Guardian, RWE boss warns over nuclear plant subsidies, Terry Macalister and Richard Cookson, 20 February 2013, which included information from a Spinwatch investigation into nuclear industry staff seconded to Government The Guardian, Nuclear safety watchdog criticises Sellafield's emergency readiness, Terry Macalister and Richard Cookson, 26 December 2012 Nuclear Hospitality of Key Officials Exposed, Spinwatch exclusive by Andy Rowell and Richard Cookson, 28 November 2012 (covered in The Guardian) Big energy's united front: nuclear, CCS and renewables lobbies in joint push for "diverse energy mix", Pete Roche, Spinwatch, 8 November 2012 Is the Government about to start lining the pockets of its nuclear friends?, Pete Roche, Spinwatch, 24 October 2012 Rob Edwards, Police trying to neuter anti-nuclear protest, 2 October 2012 Pete Roche, The Treasury and Nuclear Power - if they aren't sane how can we trust them with the nation's finances? 17 July 2012 Pete Roche, Spinwatch When is a Subsidy not a Subsidy?, 22 May 2012 Private Eye Waiving the rules to keep the nuclear power programme on course, Rob Edwards, 21 March 2012 Spinwatch The Coalition is Set to Break its Promise on Nuclear, 9 May 2012 Resources Briefings 9 May 2012: Broken Promises: Subsiding the Nuclear Industry Briefings archive To help people understand key issues on nuclear power, NuclearSpin in 2009 published a series of in-depth analysis pieces on key issues surrounding the debate concerning building new nuclear power plants in the UK. We will be updating these briefings and associated pages in 2012. Search for other articles on the Nuclear push at the Spinwatch site

Notes