Easter Adjournment

Llinos Medi Excerpts

Tuesday 8th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Llinos Medi (Ynys Môn) (PC)]

I will focus my remarks on Wylfa and this Government’s approach towards nuclear energy. Ynys Môn has a long history associated with clean nuclear power, with two Magnox reactors constructed at Wylfa in the 1960s and coming online in 1971. By 2015, both reactors had reached the end of their operating life and were shut down. Despite promises of a new nuclear project at Wylfa, communities on Ynys Môn have been left waiting and waiting, with RWE and E.ON pulling out of developing a new project at Wylfa in 2012, followed by Hitachi in 2018.

The Prime Minister has recently said that the world has changed, and that

“It’s not the job of governments to sit back and hope for the best, or simply manage the moment.”

In that spirit, I ask the Government to look seriously at developing the site at Wylfa. It would provide a reliable, clean source of power that could last for up to 80 years, strengthening our energy security at a time when the world is becoming more uncertain. It is estimated that a large reactor project would create 10,000 jobs during construction in north Wales and 900 long-term jobs during operation—this is in an area of Wales with some of the lowest wages. If the Government are serious about generating growth, they must surely see that developing a site at Wylfa is a no-brainer.

The Government have changed their approach to the planning system for nuclear projects. While I recognise the Government’s aim of changing the planning system to make it easier for more sites to host nuclear power, that should not come at the expense of progressing with development at Wylfa. The removal of the preferred site, including Wylfa, in the Government’s nuclear planning policy will likely lead to confusion for developers about where they should prioritise their investments. I urge the Government to reinstate Wylfa as a preferred site in the national policy statement for nuclear energy generation.

We also have little clarity from the Government about the role of Great British Energy in supporting nuclear energy at Wylfa. I had tabled an amendment to the Great British Energy Bill to ensure that nuclear development would be at the heart of GBE, but that was rejected by the Government.

As the head of Rolls-Royce has said, the UK Government run the risk of ensuring that critical supply chains to support the development of small nuclear reactors will be built elsewhere if they fail to select the companies to build them by the end of June. The Government say that they will announce plans for the small modular reactors soon, but when exactly will that be? The people of Ynys Môn have had their futures put on hold for too long by successive Westminster Governments. This Government need to make a decision on Wylfa and to do so quickly.