Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen
9.01am BST
Unite has welcomed the announcement, saying 25,000 jobs will be created by the Hinkley Point C project. This is from Unite’s national officer for energy, Kevin Coyne.
Our members are shovel ready and dead keen to start work on the country’s first nuclear power station for a generation. It is excellent news that that the uncertainty caused by Theresa May’s decision to put Hinkley Point ‘on hold’ has now been dispelled and that the Government recognises the role of nuclear in a mixed energy economy. It means that the lights will remain on in the UK in the decades ahead and it heralds an economic renaissance for the West Country, with the accompanying creation of thousands of skilled jobs and the positive ripple effects to the supply chain across the UK.
8.53am BST
Finally we’ve got the confirmation that the government is giving the Hinkley Point C power station the go-ahead. Theresa May halted it in July, just before contracts were due to be signed because she wanted to review it, but this morning the government has announced that it will go ahead – but with new rules governing future foreign investment in British nuclear power stations.
This is crucial because in some respects the the concerns about Hinkley are not really about Hinkley at all, but about Bradwell. China is a minority investor in Hinkley Point, but it is investing as part of a deal that will also see it play a minority role in building a new nuclear power station at Sizewell, in Suffolk, and that will also see it take the lead in building a new nuclear plant at Bradwell, in Essex. For the Chinese Bradwell is the real prize because they believe that establishing successful Chinese-designed nuclear power station in the UK will lead to them breaking into many other markets in the West.
Related: Hinkley Point C nuclear power station gets go-ahead
Having thoroughly reviewed the proposal for Hinkley Point C, we will introduce a series of measures to enhance security and will ensure Hinkley cannot change hands without the government’s agreement. Consequently, we have decided to proceed with the first new nuclear power station for a generation.
Britain needs to upgrade its supplies of energy and we have always been clear that nuclear is an important part of ensuring our future low-carbon energy security.
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Sig Nordal 