Falling Out

As we all know, because the Glorious Successor's spin doctors have told us, Gordon is a differently fishy kettle from the recently ascended Vicar of Downing Street. Where Tony brought war, Gordon brings planned and considered withdrawal. Where Tony brought gifts to the very rich, Gordon brings non-inflationary pay awards to the little people. And where Tony fought shoulder to shoulder with Halliburton to get Saddam's oil, and helped re-start the Cold War in order to safeguard Britain's imports of Russian gas, Gordon has announced that "the security of our energy supply is best safeguarded by building a new generation of nuclear power stations".

Unfortunately, he announced it before the completion of the consultation process which was forced on the Government in February after the high court ruled that the previous consultativity manifestation was "manifestly inadequate and unfair". According to its own guidelines, the Government is bound to keep an open mind until after the "fullest public consultation" has been made and properly ignored. Half a dozen pressure groups, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the World Wildlife Fund, have accused the Government of distorting the evidence to make nuclear power look a more safe and viable option than it really is. Imagine that.

"The new consultation is no different from the government's previous attempt at a nuclear consultation," according to a document drafted by these malcontents. "It skirts over the many negative aspects of nuclear power such as its enormous cost, what to do with all the radioactive waste new build will create, and how little nuclear power will do to help cut carbon emissions and guarantee energy security." Of course, the idea that nuclear power produces harmful radioactive waste is, like the idea that carbon emissions need to be cut, merely the consensus of a lot of scientists. "It has become clear that the government has already made up its mind," the document continues, "and that this new consultation is nothing more than an expensive sham. The material produced for public consumption contains glaring factual inaccuracies, errors and omissions and is little more than a pro-nuclear polemic." Imagine that.