Euro-MP: " Say no to Blair's nuclear future"

12.56.34pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 17th May 2006

Lib Dem MEP for the West Midlands, Liz Lynne, today strongly condemned the Prime Minister's decision to put nuclear power "back on the agenda with a vengeance."

The Euro-MP, who has in the past called for nuclear power stations to be phased out, was shocked when learning of Tony Blair's apparent consideration of the nuclear option.

Liz Lynne said:

"My constituents in the West Midlands will be horrified when they see the Labour government moving towards building a new generation of nuclear power stations."

"We have had nuclear energy for fifty years now, yet disturbingly we still have not come up with a way of safely disposing of the waste that it produces."

"Nuclear enthusiasts wrongly oversimplify the debate as a simple choice between nuclear and gas or coal generators that pump carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The real challenge is to radically increase the use of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and wave power combined with drastic energy efficiency and reduction strategies."

"When considering energy policy there is far more to consider than just the environmental effects alone. Fuel poverty is a problem that affects thousands of old people. Better-insulated homes would save lives as well as being of tremendous benefit in the fight to save the environment."

"We can ultimately waste billions of pounds trying to meet our energy demands through risky technologies such as nuclear fission, or we can invest that money into reducing our energy demands in the first place."

ENDS

Notes

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4987196.stm