Anti-nuclear movement in the United Kingdom: Difference between revisions

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In January 2008 the UK government announced plans to build new nuclear power stations, and the anti-nuclear movement in the United Kingdom has voiced concerns. There are also public concerns about the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Many different groups and individuals have been involved in demonstrations and protests over the years.

Background

In 1976, the UK Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution found that it would be "morally wrong" to make a major commitment to nuclear power without first demonstrating a safe way of isolating radioactive waste. Yet the UK is about to embark on a programme to build at least 10 new reactors while still lacking a disposal site for waste from the past 50 years. According to a New Scientist report, spent fuel from the new reactors will be far more radioactive than existing waste.^[1]^[2]

Politically, nuclear power is no longer an issue between the two major parties. Although the Labour Government appeared to rule out new nuclear power stations as recently as 2003, it gradually shifted its position, with the backing of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, who are both nuclear enthusiasts. In the 2008 Nuclear White Paper, Labour Government unequivocally said that atomic energy should be part of a "low carbon future" for the British economy. The Liberal Democrats, alone of the major parties, remain resolutely anti-nuclear.^[3]

In January 2008 the UK government announced plans to build new nuclear power stations, and the anti-nuclear movement in the United Kingdom has voiced concerns. In April 2009, the government released a list of 11 sites in England and Wales where new nuclear power stations could be built. The sites are:^[4]

These locations were nominated by companies interested in building the plants, and the government has given its initial approval to the sites.^[4] Announcement of the nuclear sites brought protests from environmental groups, who argued that the high costs involved and the waste produced by nuclear stations could not justify the contribution they would make in cutting carbon emissions.^[6] Also, the first nuclear plant would not be operational before 2017.^[6]

Nathan Argent, head of Greenpeace's anti-nuclear campaign, says the group will "continue to lobby the government to meet its legally binding targets on renewables, and to make sure it gets an energy efficiency programme up and running".^[4]

The Scottish Government

The Scottish government opposes building new nuclear power stations.^[7]^[8] Wind power in Scotland is an area of growing interest.

Specific groups

One of the most prominent anti-nuclear groups in the UK is the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). CND favours nuclear disarmament by all countries and tighter international regulation through treaties such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. CND is also opposed to any new nuclear power stations being built in the United Kingdom. One of the activities most strongly associated with CND is the Aldermaston Marches. Other anti-nuclear groups in the UK include:

Campaign Against Nuclear Radiation And Storage^[9]
Christian CND
Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment
Friends of the Earth (EWNI)
Friends of the Earth Scotland
Greenpeace
Labour CND
No 2 Nuclear Power^[10]
No New Nukes^[11]
Nuclear Pledge^[12]
Nuclear Spin^[13]
NukeWatch
People Against Wylfa B (Pawb)^[14]
Radiation Free Lakeland^[15]^[16]
Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Shutdown Sizewell Campaign^[17]
Stop Hinkley^[18]
Trident Ploughshares
Wales Anti-Nuclear Alliance^[19]
WWF-UK^[20]

Academics

In 2008, several prominent UK academics spoke out against the government's proposal to build a new generation of nuclear power plants:^[21]^[22]

Other individuals

References

External links

[1] Editorial: Nuclear industry must not forget past lessons

[2] Nuclear super-fuel gets too hot to handle

[3] The landscape of a nuclear Britain: but is it the best option?

[new-4] New nuclear site options unveiled

[5] Nuclear protests grow

[all-6] All-clear for nuclear plants ‘too late to plug power gap’

[7] New nuclear site options unveiled

[8] Scots vote reinforces antinuclear position

[9] CANSAR

[10] News and information about the UK nuclear industry

[11] No new nukes!

[12] Welcome to Nuclear Pledge

[13] Nuclear Spin

[14] Pawb Website

[15] Radiation Free Lakeland

[16] Anti-nuclear group calls for inquiry

[17] Shutdown Sizewell Campaign

[18] Stop Hinkley

[19] Anti-nuclear groups fear danger at new reactor

[20] Nuclear is too little, too late and too dangerous

[21] Scientists take on Brown over nuclear plans

[22] Nuclear Consultation: Public Trust in Government

[23] Fears over nuclear waste transport plan

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@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 In January 2008 the [[Her Majesty's Government|UK government]] announced plans to build new [[nuclear power stations]], and the anti-nuclear movement in the United Kingdom has voiced concerns. In April 2009, the government released a list of 11 sites in England and Wales where new nuclear power stations could be built. The sites are:<ref name=new/>
 *[[Bradwell, Essex]]
+*[[Braystones, Cumbria]]<ref>[http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/news/nuclear_protests_grow_1_544641?referrerPath=jobs Nuclear protests grow]</ref>
-*[[Braystones, Cumbria]]
 *[[Dungeness, Kent]]
 *[[Hartlepool]]

v t e Anti-nuclear movement
Protests and groups	Anti-nuclear organizations Anti-nuclear power groups Anti-nuclear protests Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Greenpeace International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons International Day against Nuclear Tests International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War Mayors for Peace Nuclear Information and Resource Service Nevada Desert Experience Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign Peace Action and SANE Physicians for Social Responsibility Pembina Institute Sortir du nucléaire World Uranium Hearing
By country	Australia Austria Canada France Germany India Japan Kazakhstan New Zealand Philippines Poland Russia South Africa South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Turkey United Kingdom United States
People	Tadatoshi Akiba Daniel Berrigan Albert Bigelow Helen Caldicott Norman Cousins Gordon Edwards Albert Einstein Randall Forsberg John Gofman Jim Green Paul Gunter Otto Hahn Nobuto Hosaka Jackie Hudson Kate Hudson Ole Kopreitan David Lange Amory Lovins Bernard Lown Caroline Lucas Freda Meissner-Blau Gregory Minor Hermann Joseph Muller Kenzaburō Ōe Linus Pauling Mike Pentz C. F. Powell Adi Roche Joseph Rotblat Bertrand Russell Jens Scheer Jonathan Schell Albert Schweitzer Christopher Weeramantry
Media	Books about nuclear issues Films about nuclear issues Nuclear holocaust fiction Nuclear weapons in popular culture Songs about nuclear war and weapons
Related topics	Anti-war movement Bikini Atoll Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Defence Secretariat 19 France and weapons of mass destruction Göttingen Manifesto History of the anti-nuclear movement Advisory opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents Mainau Declaration Nuclear-Free Future Award Nuclear-free zone Nuclear power debate Nuclear power phase-out Nuclear weapons debate Peace activists Otto Hahn Peace Medal Peace movement Peace camp Russell–Einstein Manifesto Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Smiling Sun The Bomb
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