MP challenges government over Moorside nuclear deal collapse
12 November 2018
John Woodcock, MP for Barrow and Furness, has today demanded a government response to the collapse of a deal which would have led to the construction of a new nuclear power station in his Cumbria constituency.
His urgent question follows an announcement by Japanese firm Toshiba, that they would be liquidating their UK energy arm, NuGen, having failed to find a buyer for the Moorside project. Part of a wider move to offload less secure assets, a year-long negotiation with Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) fell through last week.
The question was responded to by Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who stated that Toshiba's decision to pull out of the nuclear project was purely commercial. He also reiterated the Government's commitment to nuclear energy.
John Woodcock followed up on his question, claiming that the people of Cumbria had been "thrown under a bus". He criticised the Secretary of State for not being more proactive in giving a statement to the Commons and his failure to commit to a new nuclear power plant in the Cumbrian area.
- Watch Parliament TV: urgent question on Toshiba's decision to withdraw from Moorside nuclear plant
- Read Commons Hansard: Nuclear Power: Toshiba
Prior to his urgent question, Woodcock, an independent MP, expressed his concern on Twitter at the government's decision not to comment on the deal's collapse, and the loss of the "21,000 local jobs and up to 7 per cent of UK energy supply" it could have represented.
- Read the Commons Library briefing on new nuclear power in the UK
- Read Toshiba's statement on the liquidation of NuGen (external)
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