The Letter from Susan Mathieson in this weeks Westmorland Gazette is a far cry from Baron Hutton of Furness’s furious spinning on behalf of the Nuclear Industry Association in this weeks national press. Baron Hutton is basing his spin on a loaded Ipsos Mori poll, while in real life the majority of Cumbrians oppose the government plan for geological dumping and the more they learn about the plan the more they oppose.
There are 88 town and parish councils in West Cumbria, only 8 have expressed support for proceeding to Stage 4 of the MRWS process. 43 have said that they do not support proceeding. The remaining 37 councils have chosen not to express an opinion.
Agressive spin which lies about “majority support” is being repeated ad nauseum. The time for ‘debate’ has been and gone, now we must step up visible opposition or government will continue to push Cumbria along this toxic ‘everything will be fine, just a step at a time’ path.
Letters and Opinions – Westmorland Gazette
Lulled into nuclear future?
I find it deeply offensive that Managing
Radioactive Waste Safely (is this the doublespeak of our brave new world?) is
using taxpayers money for a double page advertisement to lull the citizens of
Cumbria into a false sense of security about plans to build a 25 km nuclear
dump under our homes. If the executive
cabinets of Cumbria, Allerdale and Copeland County Councils vote on 30 January
to proceed to stage 4 of the search for a site for a nuclear dump in Cumbria,
we can be sure that this will not be an open discussion on a level playing
field. On the government side millions
more pounds of taxpayers money will be spent to argue the case for building the
dump and talking down the clear dangers involved. For the people of Cumbria and
beyond who will
be affected by the reality of a nuclear dump under our homes that both
government and independent scientists have argued is unsafe, we have only the
hard facts and our fears for the wellbeing of our children to stand up to the
politics driving the pro-nuclear argument.
When the facts are plainly laid out to people, hardly anyone wants to open a door
to this dangerous and uncertain future. But these facts have been muffled by
the advertising, so that few local people are even aware of what is being
planned. Please councillors, don’t let us
be taken to this next stage where our voices may be drowned by powerful forces
that are desperate to bury the waste anywhere they can persuade people to take
it, regardless of the consequences.
Susan Mathieson
Ambleside
“Majority Support” John Hutton
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/9771135/Nuclear-sector-pushes-for-green-light-on-waste-dump.html
John Hutton’s “Nuclear Fantasy” by Michael Meacher
http://www.michaelmeacher.info/weblog/2008/03/huttons-nuclear-fantasies/
RADIATION FREE LAKELAND 