Ed Miliband: read my lips – no nuclear subsidies

In honour of Nick Clegg’s visit to Forgemasters today, I thought I would go back and see what Ed Miliband was saying about nuclear power before the election. On 9 November 2009, he told the House:

“We are not going to provide public subsidy for the construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear power stations.”

(Hat tip: Left Foot Forward)

In response to the announced withdrawal of the Forgemasters loan, Ed went on to say:

“I am horrified by the Tory-Liberal coalition’s decision to withdraw the support promised to Sheffield Forgemasters by the Labour government. It is a sign of a government with a destructive industrial strategy and threatens the timetable for new nuclear in the UK.

“Yesterday Chris Huhne called for an ‘energy revolution’ while Danny Alexander was stopping investment in a British company that is central to producing the infrastructure for nuclear power that we need for a clean energy revolution. The government needs to say how Liberal Democrat opposition to nuclear power led them to target Sheffield Forgemasters.”

I hope that clears his position up in time for the leadership ballot.

Sorry, terribly tribal of me I know to point this out. But it does highlight quite how silly the Labour leadership contenders are behaving at the moment. At what point are they going to start taking more responsibilty?

2 comments

  1. “At what point are they going to start taking more responsibility?”

    Probably never. And as an opposition they won’t feel any compunction to do so. After all, they have been in a sort of opposition (to the evil Thatcher mainly, the Tory Party secondarily) at least since Brown became PM. It’s all the wicked Tories’ fault. Why change what’s so terribly comfortable?

  2. Does anyone really think Ed and David are now changed characters , not new labour Blairites, I very much doubt it, if either wins I suspect a letter will be sent by Blair saying another good day for the 3rd way.

    balls will have a letter from Brown saying remember it’s my job not your and I’m after you, Burnham well not sure yet, he is I think a blairite maybe a Brownite, is he a labourite. Abbott well so long as we can all send out kids to private schools she is ok

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