Don’t Just Nod This Through
image by Eleanor
Government are keen to wipe away hard won planning controls in order to smooth the way for new nuclear build and geological dumping. The Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project designation was designed primarily to push new nuclear build – the normal planning regime protecting places and people is scrapped under NSIP. Now the government is about to add nuclear waste to the NSIP designation. This has already been nodded through the House of Lords and yesterday was nodded through the first stage of the House of Commons by a Committee of carefully selected MPs (selected by Government Whips) ensuring a nod of consent. There was one lone voice of dissent …MP Duncan Hames..good man!
There will be another such meeting “in a day or two.” With this type of “Statutory Instrument” legislation there is no debate in the House of Commons by MPs and any vote is guaranteed to go through because the MPs are selected.
Please email, tweet your MP to ask them to be at the meeting OR for your MP to at least ask the chair of the meeting to put it on record that this proposal to add Geological Disposal to NSIP will effectively ditch democracy. Ask them to put it on record that Parish Councils and the County Council in Cumbria overwhelmingly OPPOSE the geological dumping of nuclear wastes. Ask them to ensure it is on record at the meeting that Radiation Free Lakeland, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and others oppose the dangerous government policy of Implementing Geological Disposal of radioactive wastes not only in Cumbria but elsewhere.
Ask them to ensure future generations can see from the Parliamentary Record that those voluntary groups tried to oppose – but were totally ignored – this move which will result in the scrapping of any future examination of plans for geological “disposal” of nuclear wastes, both in Parliament, and in any local planning inquiry.
Ask them to ensure it is put on Parliamentary record that democracy is being dumped in order to smooth the way to dump nuclear wastes and facilitate new build.
