Nuclear spin

This article is part of the Nuclear Spin project of Spinwatch. NuclearSpin Welcome to NuclearSpin, your unique portal on the nuclear debate. Nuclear power remains central to the British government’s plans for energy. In May 2012, the new Energy Secretary Ed Davey told the Nuclear Development Forum, the industry-government body which coordinates new build in the UK, that the government believed “the UK remains the best place in the world to invest in new nuclear”. At the same meeting, Vincent de Rivaz, the head of EDF Energy, thanked the British government for their “sense of confidence that new nuclear in the UK should and will go ahead". 2012, he added, is the “defining year” for new nuclear in the UK. Despite Fukushima and the pull-outs of the nuclear market by other operators, de Rivaz’s message to the nuclear industry was to “Carry On and to Keep Calm.” It is business as usual. But many unanswered questions remain over nuclear: especially over safety, subsidies and waste. All these issues have not yet been resolved, yet the British government is pushing ahead with a new generation of nuclear power plants. In May 2010, the coalition agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats said there would no public subsidies for nuclear. However, we know that the Coalition is trying to wriggle around this commitment by fudging to floor price for carbon. They may well fudge the decommissioning costs too. There is also evidence that the industry and government colluded to spin the safety message after Fukushima. Even MPs do not trust the Government to tell the truth about nuclear. In July 2012, the Science and Technology Committee concluded that "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. Throughout 2012 we will be updating this portal and its associated pages, the bulk of which were developed in 2008-09. If you'd like to help us by becoming a Powerbase contributor, please email the managing editor melissa.jones@powerbase.info "A devil’s bargain – a choice of last resort" In spring 2012, the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) argued that “After the unprecedented tsunami in Japan last March and the damage inflicted upon the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, it was hardly surprising that a poll conducted in June 2011 saw a drop in public support for nuclear, with the results showing that people with favourable opinions about nuclear fell from 40% to 28% and unfavourable opinions increased from 17% to 24%.” It continued: “However, a recent survey conducted in December 2011 by Ipsos MORI has indicated that the dip in support for nuclear energy has been short-lived, with figures all but returning to those marked in polls conducted before Fukushima - favourability towards the industry recovered to 40% and unfavourable opinions reduced to 19%.” The NIA's Chief Executive, Keith Parker argued that, "The poll clearly shows that public opinion has not only recovered from last summer’s dip but it has also resumed its gradual year-on year improvement. The 50% support figure for new build is the highest it has ever been." However, Professor Nick Pidgeon, Director of the Understanding Risk Programme, Cardiff University, giving evidence to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee argues that “a large proportion of recent support” for nuclear power “remain[s] conditional - a 'reluctant acceptance' at best" and added that "while many more in Britain have indeed come to support nuclear power over the past decade they do so while viewing it only as a 'devil's bargain', a choice of last resort in the face of the threat of climate change”. Background NuclearSpin was originally launched in response to the British Government's 12-week consultation on energy in 2006. In 2007 the High Court ruled that the government's plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations were "unlawful" and the way it consulted with the public over the decision was "misleading, seriously flawed, manifestly inadequate and procedurally unfair". What made Gordon Brown's decision in January 2008 to give the go-ahead to a new generation of nuclear plants politically sensitive was his younger brother Andrew Brown's role as director of communications with EDF Energy, the UK subsidiary of EDF and one of the leading companies pushing for a nuclear rebuild programme in the UK. The Labour Government also sped up the planning process, making it easier for nuclear power plants to be built. Planning Minister Yvette Cooper was criticised for her "nuclear cronyism" due to her father's links to the nuclear industry. For a full briefing on the so-called 'facilitative actions' which the Government carried out to speed up nuclear developments see New Nuclear Monitor No.14 (pdf) To help people make up their own minds about nuclear power, NuclearSpin was last updated and expanded in 2008/09 with the following information: New sections on countries and regions, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, the EU, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and United States; Expanded profiles on pro-nuclear organisations and lobby groups. An analysis section, including Why Nuclear is not the Answer to Climate Change and The_Secret_Pro-Nuclear_Push_In_Schools. NuclearSpin also worked with Sourcewatch to develop a Nuclear Portal page. Some articles and profiles were deleted from this NuclearSpin site and moved across to SourceWatch. Deleted pages include a redirect to the relevant Sourcewatch page. In 2012 we began the process of updating the NuclearSpin portal, focusing on the companies and individuals who are pushing nuclear in the UK.

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, 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 Rich Cookson, 28 November 2012 (also 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

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