The Coalition Government policy on Nuclear Power : a Toxic Issue for the Liberal Democrats ?
Before joining the coalition, the Liberal Democrats were the principal nuclear-power skeptics on the British political scene. In accordance with the Coalition Agreement, they embraced the Conservatives’ policy of nuclear expansion provided it received no public subsidy. Two successive Lib Dems, Chri...
Kaydedildi:
| Yayımlandı: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/osb, |
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| Yazar: | |
| Materyal Türü: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Dil: | Anglais |
| Baskı/Yayın Bilgisi: |
Observatoire de la société britannique
2014
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| Konular: | |
| Online Erişim: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Özet: | Before joining the coalition, the Liberal Democrats were the principal nuclear-power skeptics on the British political scene. In accordance with the Coalition Agreement, they embraced the Conservatives’ policy of nuclear expansion provided it received no public subsidy. Two successive Lib Dems, Chris Huhne and Ed Davey, were tasked with UK’s nuclear new build programme as heads of the DECC. However the ‘nuclear without subsidy’ policy has proved difficult to achieve insofar as investors (mainly EDF Energy) require financial guarantees to embark in the multi-billion-pound project. The government eventually had to find trade-offs between market requirements and the coalition’s promise, notably with measures to encourage low carbon power generation. This was denounced as hidden subsidies for the nuclear industry, and became a divisive issue within the Liberal Democrat party. The next general elections will serve as a test to see if the new policy has alienated core voters who were first attracted to the party because of its green shade. |
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