Latest news with #nuclearplant
The Independent
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Spending review latest: Fears ‘staggering' cuts may be required by Rachel Reeves
Concerns have been raised that Rachel Reeves may have to make 'staggering' cuts as a result of her spending review plans. The chancellor is set to unveil plans for all department funding until the next election in 2029 during her review on Wednesday. Experts have warned the chancellor will have to make £5 billion worth of cuts to ensure the spending plans are fulfilled - with areas such as housing, policing and border control expected to be affected. The analysis, carried out by researchers at the House of Commons library commissioned by the Lib Dems, found that unprotected departments — which excludes NHS England, the core schools budget and defence — could see the real-terms cuts by 2028/29. The Lib Dems said the scale of the expected cuts was 'staggering'. Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: 'After years of shameful Conservative neglect, it is household budgets and people relying on these services for vital support who are bearing the brunt. 'From social care to neighborhood policing, this Labour government is at risk of failing to deliver the change that people were promised.' 'We are really going to suffer': Residents' dismay over nuclear plant investment Residents, campaigners and organisations have expressed outrage after the Government allocated more than £14 billion towards building a nuclear plant on the Suffolk coast. The plant is expected to provide 10,000 jobs but residents and campaign groups say it will damage wildlife and impact the community. Jenny Kirtley, a resident from nearby Sibton who chairs the campaign group Together Against Sizewell C, arranged a demonstration against the development at the site last Saturday, which was attended by around 300 people. 'I have lived in this area on and off most of my life and have never seen anything like it,' she said. 'The devastation going on in this area is unbelievable. 'Net zero is supposed to happen by 2030 – there is no way this is going to be completed by then. 'Leiston has a population of fewer than 6,000: where are all these people going to stay? 'Rent is going sky-high at the moment – it's absolutely ridiculous. 'We are really going to suffer.' Athena Stavrou10 June 2025 15:00 Fears 'staggering' cuts may be required by Rachel Reeves Concerns have been raised that Rachel Reeves may have to make 'staggering' cuts as a result of her spending review plans. Experts have warned the chancellor will have to make £5 billion worth of cuts to ensure the spending plans are fulfilled - with areas such as housing, policing and border control expected to be affected. The analysis, carried out by researchers at the House of Commons library commissioned by the Lib Dems, found that unprotected departments — which excludes NHS England, the core schools budget and defence — could see the real-terms cuts by 2028/29. The Lib Dems said the scale of the expected cuts was 'staggering'. Spokesperson Daisy Cooper said: 'After years of shameful Conservative neglect, it is household budgets and people relying on these services for vital support who are bearing the brunt. 'From social care to neighborhood policing, this Labour government is at risk of failing to deliver the change that people were promised.' Athena Stavrou10 June 2025 14:51 What is the spending review? The chancellor will unveil the results of her line by line spending review, setting out the budgets of government departments until the end of the decade on Wednesday. Rachel Reeves' spending review has taken place in two parts, with phase one set out in her October Budget - which included £40 billion of tax hikes and set out departmental spending until 2026. The second phase has seen departments ordered to set out how adopting technologies such as AI and reforming public services can free up government cash and support the delivery of Labour's missions. Wednesday's review will set out day-to-day departmental spending for the next three years and investment spending for the next four. Reeves has ruled out borrowing for day-to-day spending and has insisted she will not raise taxes again, prompting questions about how the policies will be funded and whether cuts will be made. Athena Stavrou10 June 2025 14:38 Pictured: Starmer talks to college students in Ipswich Athena Stavrou10 June 2025 14:23 Watch: Sizewell C nuclear plant to be built with £14.2bn government funding Nuclear plans labelled 'downgrade' by Conservatives The Conservatives have branded the Government's nuclear development plans as a 'downgrade' on the previous government's commitments. Speaking from the frontbench, Conservative MP Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) said: 'This statement is a downgrade on what the last government put in motion. Today, the Energy Secretary has announced only one small modular reactor (SMR). There is no clear target to increase nuclear power generation, and no news on Wylfa. 'The nuclear industry is expecting news of a third gigawatt-scale reactor. The last government purchased the land and committed to build but on this today, the Energy Secretary said nothing. 'So can he commit to the planning inherited for a third gigawatt-scale plant at Wylfa? And will he recommit to the Conservative policy of 24 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2050?' Energy Secretary Ed Miliband replied: 'I do sort of slightly scratch my head, because he sort of says it's a downgrade, I mean, we've announced the largest nuclear building programme in 50 years.' Athena Stavrou10 June 2025 13:41 Exclusive: Rachel Reeves forced 'to make £5bn cuts' to balance books after spending review Rachel Reeves will need to wield the axe and make nearly £5bn worth of cuts to balance the books in the wake of Labour's spending review, new analysis has revealed. The chancellor will on Wednesday announce funding for all departments until the next election in 2029 after a bitter cabinet civil war over what is being dubbed 'austerity 2.0'. But experts have warned Labour will have to make billions of pounds of cuts to ensure Reeves can fulfil her spending plans — with areas such as housing, policing and border control expected to be in the line of fire. Rachel Reeves 'needs to make £5bn cuts' to balance books after spending review Exclusive: The chancellor is set to unveil her spending review on Wednesday but researchers warn she will need to make £5bn of cuts by 2028/29 — even before finding the cash to restore winter fuel payments to pensioners Athena Stavrou10 June 2025 13:24 When is the spending review? Rachel Reeves will this week make one of her biggest statements to MPs since Labour's general election victory. The chancellor will unveil the results of her line by line spending review, setting out the budgets of government departments until the end of the decade. The spending review will take place after Prime Minister's Questions, so at around 12.30pm, on Wednesday, 11 June. Athena Stavrou10 June 2025 13:08 People will be more safe, not less, after spending review, PM insists The Independent's political correspondent Millie Cooke reports: People will be 'more safe' not less after the spending review, the prime minister has insisted, promising there is money going into policing and security. His comments came ahead of Wednesday's review of government departments, amid growing speculation that there could be cuts to police force numbers and a squeezed Home Office budget. Asked whether people will be less safe after the spending review, Sir Keir told GB News: 'They will be more safe. There's money going into policing, into security, and that is really important, particularly coming from my background. 'I was chief prosecutor for five years, prosecuting cases across England and Wales. So this is a core belief. 'Those extra police officers will be neighbourhood police officers, and I think that will give people the reassurance in their communities that they are safe'. Athena Stavrou10 June 2025 13:04 Comment: Could 'going nuclear' finally end Ed Miliband's career? Not far from me, in the lovely Leicestershire village of Nevil Holt, for some reason a replica of the notorious 'Ed Stone' has been erected in a churchyard. It's all part of the small but growing Nevil Holt art and literature festival, and I imagine it's to remind passersby of the ephemeral nature of so much of politics – if not life. The energy secretary is one of politics' great survivors – but his plan to build a £14bn power station on the Suffolk coast could leave a toxic legacy, says Sean O'Grady:
Asharq Al-Awsat
03-06-2025
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
No Way to Restart Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant at Present, IAEA Chief Says
Conditions for restarting Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant do not exist at present due to a lack of water for cooling and the absence of a stable power supply, the head of the UN's nuclear safety watchdog said on Tuesday. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told Reuters in an interview in Kyiv that water would have to be pumped from the Dnipro River for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is currently shut down, to restart. The facility, in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, was occupied by Russia in March 2022, shortly after it launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Grossi said the Russians had "never hidden the fact" that they want to restart the plant, but they would not be able to do so soon. "We are not in a situation of imminent restart of the plant. Far from that, it would take quite some time before that can be done," Grossi said. The IAEA chief added that the plant's machinery, which has not been operating for three years, would have to be thoroughly inspected before any restart. Ukraine has said that an attempt by Russian technicians to restart the plant would be dangerous because they are not certified to operate the Zaporizhzhia plant. Grossi said Russian nuclear staff were capable of conducting a restart, and that the issue of certification was a political rather than technical one. Ukraine has also protested at the IAEA's monitoring mission to the plant accessing it via Russian-occupied territory. Grossi said this was to protect the safety of his staff, and that at present he does not have the necessary guarantees from the Russian side to safely transit IAEA staff through the frontlines to Ukraine-controlled territory, as had been done several times before.
Reuters
03-06-2025
- General
- Reuters
No way to restart Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant at present, IAEA chief says
KYIV, June 3 (Reuters) - Conditions for restarting Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant do not exist at present due to a lack of water for cooling and the absence of a stable power supply, the head of the UN's nuclear safety watchdog said on Tuesday. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told Reuters in an interview in Kyiv that water would have to be pumped from the Dnipro River for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is currently shut down, to restart. The facility, in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, was occupied by Russia in March 2022, shortly after it launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour. Grossi said the Russians had "never hidden the fact" that they want to restart the plant, but they would not be able to do so soon. "We are not in a situation of imminent restart of the plant. Far from that, it would take quite some time before that can be done," Grossi said. The IAEA chief added that the plant's machinery, which has not been operating for three years, would have to be thoroughly inspected before any restart. Ukraine has said that an attempt by Russian technicians to restart the plant would be dangerous because they are not certified to operate the Zaporizhzhia plant. Grossi said Russian nuclear staff were capable of conducting a restart, and that the issue of certification was a political rather than technical one. Ukraine has also protested at the IAEA's monitoring mission to the plant accessing it via Russian-occupied territory. Grossi said this was to protect the safety of his staff, and that at present he does not have the necessary guarantees from the Russian side to safely transit IAEA staff through the frontlines to Ukraine-controlled territory, as had been done several times before.
Reuters
28-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Poland to seek partner for second nuclear plant in June
WARSAW, May 28 (Reuters) - Poland will begin selecting a partner for its planned second nuclear power plant in June, the country's leading energy security official said on Wednesday. Deputy Industry Minister Wojciech Wrochna had previously said the process would start in January. Poland, which is working to reduce its reliance on coal, chose Westinghouse Electric to build its first nuclear plant on the Baltic Sea coast. The financing is not fully agreed, but is is meanwhile preparing to start working on a second plant. "We want to have a capital partner, but we don't know if we'll find one. We have to verify what this interest is. We want to end this dialogue next year," Wrochna told a news conference. "We will conduct a dialogue with the market. We won't include a model or a contractor. We want to negotiate what is possible in terms of technology, contractor, financing and operation. We will talk to everyone, the French, the Americans, the Canadians," he added.
