Back in February, Steerpike’s old friend Ed Miliband vowed to liberate Britain’s nuclear industry from the stranglehold of bureaucracy. Red Ed promised to take a sledgehammer to the ‘archaic rules’ holding back the construction of power stations across the land. He even admitted that Britain’s record on nuclear is diabolical on a global scale, with ours among the priciest places on earth to get a plant built.
All very encouraging, Mr S thought. So, imagine his surprise to learn that, while the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is supposedly busy striking matches for its great red-tape bonfire, it has found time to spend £12,000 of taxpayers’ money on… DEI support for the Office for Nuclear Regulation! Yes, really. A contract for equality and inclusion assistance has been awarded to Lisa Ellis Bespoke Business Solutions – quite a curious priority for a department apparently intent on cutting costs and speeding up delivery.
The revelation came via a written question from the Conservatives, who were quick to seize on the striking inconsistency. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood piled in:
Voters want cheaper bills. Instead, Labour are taxing them to make nuclear power woke. What a nuclear waste. When it comes to reactors, Labour should focus on delivery, not diversity.
Quite. If Miliband wants to turbocharge nuclear, one does wonder whether diversity workshops is really the way to turbocharge this power plant revolution…
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