The Green Ribbon

Labour MPs in call to force nuclear on Scotland

It looks like Scottish Labour MPs are having a tough time coming to terms with the new regime at Holyrood. Not content with comparing Alex Salmond to Hitler, they want Westminster to strip him of the power to block new nuclear power stations – a manifesto commitment.

The calls are being led by Scots Labour MPs with close links to Scotland’s two nuclear stations at Hunterston and Torness.
 
 

Michael Connarty, deputy chairman of the MPs’ nuclear energy group,
said: "If we have a nuclear power station at the moment and people say
they want to keep it, there’s no way the prejudice of an SNP
administration should prevent it being replaced after it is
decommissioned. We should not allow the planning rules to make us hidebound by the prejudice of the SNP."

He added: "It is not a matter of taking anything away. There should
be the same rules for everyone – those rules should be sensible."

Labour MP Anne Moffat, whose East Lothian constituency includes
Torness, added: "I don’t think it [taking back the powers] should be
ruled out and I am convinced it is on Darling’s mind. The energy supply
and the security of the supply are so fundamental that I don’t think we
can risk it in the hands of an irresponsible Executive in Scotland
under any circumstances." 

John Robertson, chairman of the all-party MPs’ nuclear energy group, added: "We have to have a national strategy and Scotland should be
part of this. We need to try to get rules that are the same all over
the country."

The backlash against the SNP follows the publication of Britain’s
energy white paper last week which paved the way for a new generation
of nuclear power stations across the UK. (Scotsman)

These people apparently didn’t foresee that a devolved Scotland would not remain a one party state forever. Why should they foresee the electoral impact of forcing new nuclear power stations on Scotland?

 

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TomGriffin

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2 responses to “Labour MPs in call to force nuclear on Scotland”

  1. M Anderson avatar
    M Anderson

    Idiot new labour m.p.’s are doing their best to cause more trouble. Why? They can’t stand not being in power! Too bad new labour the people do not want you in government! Stop acting like fascists and take it you buffoons!
    We should not allow the planning rules to make us hidebound by the prejudice of the SNP.
    [Ha! ha! The snp are loony leftists. How can they possibly be prejudiced? Of course I am being sarcastic. Finally I see the loony left fighting each other.]
    There should be the same rules for everyone – those rules should be sensible. [Like devolution you mean? Like the Barnett formula you mean? Like the West Lothian question you mean?]
    The energy supply and the security of the supply are…fundamental…I don’t think we can risk it in the hands of an irresponsible Executive in Scotland under any circumstances.
    [Irresponsible? Ha! ha! That’s ironic coming from you lot!]
    We have to have a national strategy and Scotland should be part of this. We need to try to get rules that are the same all over the country.
    [National? Do you mean the UK? Why should the scots be part of a “national” power supply when they have a separate parliament?]

    Reply
  2. avatar
    Anonymous

    The complaining labour MPs are indeed itiots. The logic of the devolution settlement is that once the Scottish Parliament (and therefore the scottish people) have the power to decide on specific areas of policy, it is impossible for that power to be recinded without it being the will of the scottish people to give that power up. On planning that is quite clearly never going to happen under an SNP administration. So to say that Darling is looking at removing some of the powers of the Parliament is just fatuous playground tantrum throwing.
    In any confrontation of this kind the Scottish Parliament would inevitably win due to the scale of the constitutional crisis that would be caused by the Westminster Parliament attempting to usurp the powers of an elected body. Having said that, a nice big confrontation may be just what the SNP are looking for. Could you imagine the hay the nationalists could make with such a fight, and the electoral damage it would do to the Scottish Labour Party if it sided with London?

    Reply

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