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Submerged politics of UK nuclear power: is Trident renewal influencing UK energy policy?

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 04:08 authored by Philip JohnstonePhilip Johnstone, Andrew StirlingAndrew Stirling
With Parliament now getting ready to vote on the ‘main gate’ decision on renewal of the Trident programme, 2016 is set to be a decisive year for the future of UK nuclear weapons capabilities. Political opposition has grown in Parliament, with both the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Labour leaderships now opposed to Trident renewal. At a lifetime cost variously estimated between £31 Billion and over £100 billion, the political and economic stakes are very high. Debate is becoming increasingly heated over the practicalities, costs, ethical and strategic implications. Many of these arguments are covered extensively elsewhere, and are not repeated here. Instead, this article looks at another possible implication of Trident renewal which has remained almost completely ‘under the radar’ of contemporary policy and academic debate. This concerns the recent history of the UK civil nuclear power industry, which also involves remarkably similar stories of delays, cost overruns, questions of necessity and performance, and critical comparisons with strategies in other countries and arguments for superior alternatives.

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Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

NGLI Spokesman

Department affiliated with

  • SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2016-12-06

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2016-11-23

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