Steve Whittaker: The Conservative case for nuclear power and renewables goes beyond global warming

Steve Whittaker is an activist in Stretford and Urmston.

David Cameron’s focus on the environment has been one of the most striking features of his attempts to re-brand and reform the party, and the party remains fairly divided on the issue. Some members, me included, do believe that climate change is a reality. Others do not. That is not the debate I want to raise, however.

Renewable energy has been one of the major talking-points of the last year. I’d like to try and explain why I think that an incoming Conservative government should be willing and ready to invest heavily in both renewables and nuclear power; and why the renewable cause has something to offer Conservatives from all sides of the party.

Both renewables and nuclear are undoubtedly going to be the key to energy security. At a time when Russia is using oil and gas as a weapon, renewable and nuclear could be the route to energy self-sufficiency. Add onto this the fact that imported oil is in the hands of un-free nations and their un-free markets, and the case for alternatives is compelling. This self-sufficency might well take many years to achieve, but why not start now? Regardless of the cost of renewable power now, why not plough the research and development money in now and see results faster? A Britain self-sufficient in energy is a Britain that will never have to kow-tow to foreign energy interests (unless of course, we have a Labour government!).