Power, so much is about power these days. I do not mean the type that Vladimir Putin is trying to wield with his invasion of Ukraine but it is connected.
A key motivation for the Russian President invading Donbas, Luhansk and Crimea in 2014 was to take control over land and coastal areas that were found to have huge reserves of natural gas. The current invasion seeks to consolidate those gains and grab more resource rich territory.
This invasion puts more pressure on global energy supplies and has added to the already rapidly increasing cost of energy. Heating our homes, running our cars and powering industry is getting costlier all the time and adds to inflation just as the economic cost of the Covid lockdowns is being realised.
I have been championing the cause for years but the current crisis means that the political establishment has now realised the importance of domestic energy security. Whilst it is better late than never, considering it takes ten years and more to build a new nuclear power station, they have come to this understanding rather late in the day.
As German governments, over many years, have sought to turn off their nuclear power stations, our Prime Minister has now set out an ambitious plan to ensure that our energy future is going to be secured.
The North Sea holds huge reserves of energy that we should be using to power our manufacturers and supply our chemical industry. A vocal minority wail at this bringing about the end of the world whilst those same people delight in consuming the products produced in China, Germany or India that could have been made here. Their virtue signalling has meant the exportation of manufacturing, jobs and wealth but has done nothing to protect the planet. They seem to think that carbon emissions respect national boundaries.
The most significant part of the Prime Minister’s announcement was the focus on building a new fleet of nuclear power stations. This will give us the reliable energy that weather dependent sources cannot and it will provide security against any future global instability.
Up to eight new full scale nuclear reactors will be built and Rolls Royce will develop a new generation of small modular reactors for further energy production.
This has been an important decision in rebalancing our economic outlook and I want to see it powering a revitalisation of our manufacturing economy.
The Culture Secretary has just launched a national debate on the future of Channel Four. It has immediately become rather a bad tempered affair with many wanting to maintain the status quo.
For some, C4 privatisation will be seen as a stepping stone to reform of the BBC licence fee.
The media plays an important role in framing the way we view the world and it is interesting to see so many become fearful that their power and influence may be challenged.
There are many forms of power and people always fight to keep or gain more.
This article was originally published in the Leigh Journal on 14th April: https://www.leighjournal.co.uk/news/20070287.much-power/
