The SNP has “no intention of changing its position on nuclear”, Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has said.
Appearing on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, Ms Somerville was asked if the party would look again at its views on nuclear power in response to the Green Party of England and Wales abandoning its long-standing blanket opposition to nuclear power in October.
Ms Somerville said: “The SNP has no intention of changing its position on nuclear.
“We have been absolutely strident on that in the past, and with the greatest respect to my colleagues in the Scottish Greens, given what’s been happening with the Green Party in England and Wales, I won’t be taking any lectures or advice from Green party conferences on these issues.
“The SNP has a strong position on anti-nuclear and we think if we’re actually going to invest in our future, it should be in the renewables – that’s our opportunity here in Scotland and it is a thriving opportunity that we can have that we’re only in the foothills of.”
She continued: “We need the UK Government to make some decisions around energy production and the network that would allow us to take full advantage of those, and if they can’t do so then they should transfer those powers to the Scottish Government where we will.”
Appearing later in the Sunday Show, Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay was also asked if support for nuclear would be a sensible compromise for the party given energy issues.
Ms Mackay said she did “not support the motion that’s coming forward”.
“We’ve been proudly anti-nuclear for a very long time, and I think that’s how it should stay,” she said.
“These developments are hugely costly, take a long time to be built and come online, and actually probably won’t make a huge amount of difference in terms of bills.”
Ms Mackay said there is also an issue at the other end of development in terms of how long nuclear sites take to decommission.
“Overall, it’s up to members to debate and discuss that motion this afternoon, and every member gets a vote, but I certainly won’t be supporting it,” she said.
Conservative shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie said it is “astonishing” that the SNP are still refusing to ditch their ideological ban on new nuclear projects.
“Nuclear is the critical piece of the jigsaw which would deliver affordable and reliable energy that would help cut bills for hard-pressed Scots,” the MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine said.
“The majority of the public support nuclear power, but this abysmal SNP government remains ideologically opposed.
“The SNP’s luddite approach is costing jobs, harming our energy security and ending Scotland’s rich and powerful association with the nuclear industry.”
Mr Bowie said Scotland does not need to choose between renewables, nuclear or oil and gas.
“We need all three to form part of a sustainable and reliable energy mix,” he said.
“That is why the Scottish Conservatives will continue to demand that the SNP drops this damaging stance and backs nuclear to protect our energy security.”