Will the SNP's anti-nuclear energy policy survive?

The National

10-06-2025

Just take Wendy Wood, one of the founders of the National Party of Scotland – which later grew into the SNP.
As early as 1953, the artist and Scottish independence campaigner was vocally against ​​the nuclear power site Dounreay on the north coast of Caithness, which has been in the long process of being decommissioned since 1994.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the wider anti-nuclear movement – which organised mass protests against the likes of Torness power station in East Lothian, which is set to close in 2030 – also had strong ties to pro-independence circles and the SNP.
It's a link that has stood until today, with the wider Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) long backing Scottish independence.
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The SNP, meanwhile, has itself had a long-standing commitment to block new nuclear projects through devolved planning powers.
But Labour are pushing for nuclear energy to make a comeback across the UK, lumping pressure on the Scottish Government to do the same.
On Tuesday, Keir Starmer promised there would be no more 'dithering' about backing nuclear power as the UK Government committed to the Sizewell C plant and the development of new small modular reactors (SMRs).
The Prime Minister said the 'change of mindset' would help free the UK from reliance on international fossil fuel markets and prevent price spikes such as those in the wake of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Scottish Labour, of course, were at the ready with anti-SNP attack lines.
'A Scottish Labour government with Anas Sarwar as First Minister will end the SNP's ban on nuclear power which is blocking jobs and investment from being created in Scotland,' Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said.
The SNP, for the time being, are not for moving.
Acting Energy Secretary Gillian Martin said in response to the announcement that the Scottish Government will continue to focus on renewable energy not nuclear power.
The party's energy spokesperson at Westminster, Dave Doogan, also hit out at the UK Government.
"The evidence is clear that nuclear is extortionate, takes decades to build and the toxic waste is a risk to local communities – Scotland's future is in renewables, carbon capture and links to Europe, not more money for white elephants,' he said.
But could that be changing?
Polls certainly indicate that Scots aren't totally opposed to the idea of nuclear power.
SNP supporters too – over half of the party's voters believe nuclear power should be part of Scotland's mix of clean energy generation, a poll suggested last month.
The Opinium survey for the campaign group Britain Remade (which, to note, was founded by a former energy and climate adviser to Boris Johnson) found 57% of those who voted for the party in last year's general election believe nuclear power should be included in Scotland's energy mix to meet the 2045 net zero target.
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A total of 56% of Scots thought nuclear power should be part of Scotland's clean energy mix to meet the targets, while 23% disagreed, and 21% said they did not know.
This isn't a totally new phenomenon, either. Ipsos polling in 2022 found that more of the Scottish public support the building of more nuclear power stations in Scotland (39%) than oppose it (32%).
Meanwhile, an SNP source told The National last month that the party's stance on atomic energy is softening.
'The younger membership honestly couldn't give two shits about this sort of stuff,' they said.
'The younger membership are quite distant from CND.'
The source also said that Labour continuing to pursue the Tory nuclear policy might eventually make the SNP stance appear 'dated' but predicted any changes in policy would come further down the line given the Holyrood election is in just a year's time.
But will Scottish Labour's recent shock win in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election change things?
Before last year's General Election, John Swinney scrapped the Nicola Sturgeon and Bute House Agreement-era 'presumption against' new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.
Instead, going forward, the party said it would look at licenses on a "rigorously evidence-led, case-by-case basis".
Will the party take this so-called 'pragmatic' approach with nuclear, too?