Here we go. "No better example" This is going to be the new "bat tunnel". The project was abandoned by Hitachi because the UK government wouldn't provide the financial support they wanted, not because of concerns about the Welsh language. Lazy uncritical reporting: it's all in the public domain. - ThreadSky

oldtrotter.bsky.social • 20 days ago

Here we go. "No better example" This is going to be the new "bat tunnel". The project was abandoned by Hitachi because the UK government wouldn't provide the financial support they wanted, not because of concerns about the Welsh language. Lazy uncritical reporting: it's all in the public domain.

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thatmarkelliott.bsky.social•20 days ago

It's an old tale, though - bad-faith misrepresentation of the facts to further an agenda, which is often only loosely connected to what the decision was about. In this case, undermining planning laws; in Theresa May's case 👇, undermining human rights laws.

dsquareddigest.bsky.social•20 days ago

someone said yesterday that it was like Theresa May's "I am not making this up, he had a cat" story and it kind of is exactly that - facing the actual problems would be difficult and unpopular so they make up comedy problems to act as an excuse for not achieving anything.

oldtrotter.bsky.social•20 days ago

As I said in my extended rant, if I wanted to understand why we’ve opened no new nuclear plants I’d start with the 1995 decision to withdraw public funding from new nuclear plants and Blair’s position in both 1997 and 2001 that there wasn’t a case for new plants, only reversed in 2006.

dsquareddigest.bsky.social•20 days ago

but if you wanted to understand why we've opened no new nuclear plants, you would be doing a fundamentally different thing from the people who just want to complain, or promote their theory of a magic growth formula

celestialweasel.bsky.social•20 days ago

Surely we need to build them in big cities, with trams?

dsquareddigest.bsky.social•20 days ago

Ivor the Engine, but powered by a SMR instead of a dragon

celestialweasel.bsky.social•20 days ago

Maybe Sodor could have them. The bricked up train's reactor slowly losing power as the core decayed. Run by the Irradiated Controller

rkemb.bsky.social•20 days ago

We need a can-do spirit, garage entrepreneurs, enriched uranium available to anyone willing to give it a go.

oldtrotter.bsky.social•20 days ago

If I were looking for reasons why the U.K. hasn’t opened any new nuclear power stations since 1995, I’d start with the announcement in May 1995 that new nuclear would receive no public sector support together with the cancellation of Hinckley Point C (which had planning permission)….

jonathanlegg.bsky.social•19 days ago

100% same issue with HS2. Government baulking at cost and consequent dithering and change of scope undoubtedly a principal cause of cost inflation.

oldtrotter.bsky.social•19 days ago

I recall the new Chair making the same point but everyone still bangs on about the bat tunnel.

jonathanlegg.bsky.social•19 days ago

"Documents stretching to the moon"

oldtrotter.bsky.social•20 days ago

…and then point out that the 1997 Labour Manifesto said “we see no economic case of any new nuclear power stations “ which was changed in 2005. I’d then add in numerous debates about reactor design, ongoing concerns about safe storage of the waste before I talked about regulations…

oldtrotter.bsky.social•20 days ago

After all, I suspect most people are actually quite comfortable with nuclear power plants having to meet high environmental and safety standards, although I guess some people don’t mind eating radioactive fish or sheep….

oldtrotter.bsky.social•20 days ago

…and it seems perfectly reasonable to assess the impact of a very large number of temporary workers on what are often relatively small and/or remote communities. So yes, let’s all bang on about there being no better example of how regulations prevent us building infrastructure.

pault00.bsky.social•20 days ago

The Celtic Languages, 1st edition, discussing the results of this sort of policy in the Irish Gaeltacht

philedwards.bsky.social•20 days ago

On the bright side, if there really is no better example than that things are looking up already.

oldtrotter.bsky.social•20 days ago

😂

thomholbrook.bsky.social•20 days ago

Britain Remade doing their Tory thinktank ‘deregulate everything, especially planning’ spiel, which is being enthusiastically adopted by the Labour right

eoinkeating.bsky.social•20 days ago

Street votes would have sorted it. SMRs for everyone.

oldtrotter.bsky.social•20 days ago

Can’t see any possible problems with street votes, none at all.

eoinkeating.bsky.social•20 days ago

I thought that idea had been put out of its misery until I read this last Sunday.

oldtrotter.bsky.social•20 days ago

Yes, I saw that as well. I've long been an advocate for nuclear power but it's risible to suggest that it's planning and regulations that's held it back in the UK.

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