Rishi: We've overseen a renaissance in the nuclear industry...it's a critical endeavour

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- Steph Spyro

THE nuclear industry has undergone a renaissance under the Tories, Rishi Sunak said yesterday.

The Prime Minister visited BAE Systems Submarines at Barrow-inFurness in Cumbria with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt yesterday after declaring a "critical national endeavour" to secure the sector's future.

Mr Sunak said: "What we have seen under the Conservatives has been a renaissance in the nuclear industry and that is because the Conservative Party is one that unequivocally backs nuclear power and our nuclear deterrent.

"That just hasn't been the case under the last Labour government.

"These decisions do take time but if you look at what's happened since 2010, we have green-lighted Sizewell C and Hinkley Point, so two nuclear power stations, we are making progress on small modular reactors and we have recommitted to our nuclear deterrent and a new generation of nuclear submarines and a replacement warhead.

"All of that has happened under a Conservative Government."

Mr Sunak's comments were in response to nuclear minster Andrew Bowie's comments that the UK should have done more to boost nuclear power "years ago" and is "running to catch up".