PRESS RELEASE BUDGET DAY
HYPOCRITICAL CASH-STRAPPED LABOUR TO SPEND £2.7BN ON BORIS JOHNSON VANITY PROJECT SIZEWELL C
Jenny Kirtley, Chair of Together Against Sizewell C (TASC), commenting on Labour’s first budget for 14 years and Rachel Reeves’ decision to confirm a further £2.7 billion of public money to prop up the failing Sizewell C project in 2025-26, said today, “TASC find this decision appalling – Labour promised ‘change’ but there is no change here as they quietly splurge a further £2.7 billion on Sizewell C, a Boris Johnson vanity project, despite the poor state of this country’s finances and the lack of transparency surrounding the full cost of the project.
It’s staggering that Labour, even though they cast doubt about the future of the project by stating, “a Final Investment Decision on whether to proceed with the project will be taken in Phase 2 of the Spending Review”[emphasis added], have increased the outlay of UK taxpayer funds on EDF’s Sizewell C white elephant by a further £2.7 billion. Labour chooses to prop up the ailing French nuclear industry rather than fund more deserving causes in the UK. The funds wasted on Sizewell C would be better spent on measures such as insulation and energy efficiency that could reduce bills now, as well as quicker to deploy renewables that will produce cheaper, cleaner electricity without the legacy of toxic radioactive waste, helping Labour achieve its aim to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2030.”
Information for editors: Extract from 2024 Budget ‘AUTUMN BUDGET 2024 FIXING THE FOUNDATIONS TO DELIVER CHANGE’ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/672232d010b0d582ee8c4905/Autumn_Budget_2024__web_accessible_.pdf
“4.80 New nuclear will play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and clean power while securing thousands of good, skilled jobs. The settlement provides £2.7 billion of funding to continue Sizewell C’s development through 2025-26. The process to raise equity and debt for the project will shortly move to its final stages and will conclude in the Spring. As with other major multiyear commitments, a Final Investment Decision on whether to proceed with the project will be taken in Phase 2 of the Spending Review.”
