Fiche du document
26 mai 2014
- doi: 10.4000/osb.1652
Ce document est lié à :
info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1957-3383
Ce document est lié à :
info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1775-4135
All rights reserved , info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Mots-clés
political party Liberal Democrats general election energy policy nuclear industry EDF Energy Hinkley Point climate changeSujets proches
Energy resources Power supply Energy Energy Nuclear energy industry Nuclear power industry Atomic energy industries Atomic industry Atomic power industry Conservation of energy Correlation of forces EnergyCiter ce document
Alexia Martin, « The Coalition Government policy on Nuclear Power : a Toxic Issue for the Liberal Democrats ? », Observatoire de la société britannique, ID : 10.4000/osb.1652
Métriques
Partage / Export
Résumé
Before joining the coalition, the Liberal Democrats were the principal nuclear-power skeptics on the British political scene. In accordance with the Coalition Agreement, they embraced the Conservatives’ policy of nuclear expansion provided it received no public subsidy. Two successive Lib Dems, Chris Huhne and Ed Davey, were tasked with UK’s nuclear new build programme as heads of the DECC. However the ‘nuclear without subsidy’ policy has proved difficult to achieve insofar as investors (mainly EDF Energy) require financial guarantees to embark in the multi-billion-pound project. The government eventually had to find trade-offs between market requirements and the coalition’s promise, notably with measures to encourage low carbon power generation. This was denounced as hidden subsidies for the nuclear industry, and became a divisive issue within the Liberal Democrat party. The next general elections will serve as a test to see if the new policy has alienated core voters who were first attracted to the party because of its green shade.