I haven’t climbed on my nuclear soapbox for some months now, but a variety of announcements, programmes and news items have prompted me to take to my keyboard in despair.
The construction of the new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point has been given the go ahead. I had my fingers crossed that it would be shelved but, like the renewal of Trident, my hopes, now dashed, had absolutely no bearing on the government’s position.
I watched the recent Panorama investigation (5th September) into Sellafield's Nuclear Safety Failings - the positioning for the programme shared below.
“A special investigation into the shocking state of Britain's most hazardous nuclear site. With a high-level whistleblower, hundreds of leaked documents and exclusive access to former senior managers, reporter Richard Bilton uncovers the truth about Sellafield. He finds an ageing and run-down plant, where nuclear waste is stored in dangerous conditions and insiders fear a serious accident.”
The documentary made for depressing viewing and left me wondering why the government wants even more of a toxic legacy when its representatives can’t safely manage what there is already.
I have written about Sellafield on a number of occasions and have even engaged with my local MP on the matter of its decommissioning (see links below). During a Panorama interview, Dr Rex Strong, the head of nuclear safety admitted that he had no idea what the decommissioning process would ultimately cost the country.
So multiple billions of pounds of tax payer funds are being spent on Trident and Sellafield…
...and yet our kids can’t go to university without getting into massive debt.
The government prioritises nuclear capabilities over education (and many other matters) and that feels shockingly short-sighted to me…
…but it’s not a new position.
On the 4th September, I watched “A very British Deterrent” on BBC2. This documentary shared the history of the UK’s quest for nuclear weapons. Following the declassification of top secret government files, the story of Harold Macmillan’s negotiations with the US were revealed. The amount of money sunk into nuclear research and testing was as offensive as the Polaris missiles eventually acquired.
Unfortunately CND was as effective in influencing the politicians of the time as it was in mobilising its forces to challenge May and her cabinet colleagues in 2016.
On the 18th July, I watched the parliamentary debate on Trident replacement. For the first time ever, I spent hours tuned in to the Parliament TV channel to hear the machinations of our elected representatives. After the landslide decision to replace the missile system, to be honest, I felt too flat to write a blog post (another first).
Though a supporter and one time member of the CND movement, I am resigned to believing its protest makes no difference to anything.
The parliamentary process though brings me, somewhat ironically, to North Korea. Who’d have thought that the UK has so much in common with the democratic peoples’ republic? Another country that has its priorities all wrong.
Recent news shared the fact that the North Koreans have tested another nuclear bomb and there seems to be fuck all that the rest of the world can do about it.
But then the UK can hardly protest too much given the recent Trident decision making; our arguments for possessing the weapons of mass destruction are the same as theirs.
And on that bombshell…
Blog Home
Blog Library
Home
A Very British Deterrent and the Panorama episode are still available on the BBC iPlayer
Four reasons why Hinkley C will happen http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37352816
Approval given for Hinkley http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37369786
North Korea claims success in fifth nuclear test http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-37314927
Previous relevant posts
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/daventry-district-democracy-and-defence
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/more-nuclear-nonsense
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/nuclear-power-questions-answered-well-sort-of
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/nuclear-profligacy
The construction of the new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point has been given the go ahead. I had my fingers crossed that it would be shelved but, like the renewal of Trident, my hopes, now dashed, had absolutely no bearing on the government’s position.
I watched the recent Panorama investigation (5th September) into Sellafield's Nuclear Safety Failings - the positioning for the programme shared below.
“A special investigation into the shocking state of Britain's most hazardous nuclear site. With a high-level whistleblower, hundreds of leaked documents and exclusive access to former senior managers, reporter Richard Bilton uncovers the truth about Sellafield. He finds an ageing and run-down plant, where nuclear waste is stored in dangerous conditions and insiders fear a serious accident.”
The documentary made for depressing viewing and left me wondering why the government wants even more of a toxic legacy when its representatives can’t safely manage what there is already.
I have written about Sellafield on a number of occasions and have even engaged with my local MP on the matter of its decommissioning (see links below). During a Panorama interview, Dr Rex Strong, the head of nuclear safety admitted that he had no idea what the decommissioning process would ultimately cost the country.
So multiple billions of pounds of tax payer funds are being spent on Trident and Sellafield…
...and yet our kids can’t go to university without getting into massive debt.
The government prioritises nuclear capabilities over education (and many other matters) and that feels shockingly short-sighted to me…
…but it’s not a new position.
On the 4th September, I watched “A very British Deterrent” on BBC2. This documentary shared the history of the UK’s quest for nuclear weapons. Following the declassification of top secret government files, the story of Harold Macmillan’s negotiations with the US were revealed. The amount of money sunk into nuclear research and testing was as offensive as the Polaris missiles eventually acquired.
Unfortunately CND was as effective in influencing the politicians of the time as it was in mobilising its forces to challenge May and her cabinet colleagues in 2016.
On the 18th July, I watched the parliamentary debate on Trident replacement. For the first time ever, I spent hours tuned in to the Parliament TV channel to hear the machinations of our elected representatives. After the landslide decision to replace the missile system, to be honest, I felt too flat to write a blog post (another first).
Though a supporter and one time member of the CND movement, I am resigned to believing its protest makes no difference to anything.
The parliamentary process though brings me, somewhat ironically, to North Korea. Who’d have thought that the UK has so much in common with the democratic peoples’ republic? Another country that has its priorities all wrong.
Recent news shared the fact that the North Koreans have tested another nuclear bomb and there seems to be fuck all that the rest of the world can do about it.
But then the UK can hardly protest too much given the recent Trident decision making; our arguments for possessing the weapons of mass destruction are the same as theirs.
And on that bombshell…
Blog Home
Blog Library
Home
A Very British Deterrent and the Panorama episode are still available on the BBC iPlayer
Four reasons why Hinkley C will happen http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37352816
Approval given for Hinkley http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37369786
North Korea claims success in fifth nuclear test http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-37314927
Previous relevant posts
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/daventry-district-democracy-and-defence
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/more-nuclear-nonsense
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/nuclear-power-questions-answered-well-sort-of
http://www.adrianbaldwin.net/blog/nuclear-profligacy
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