Shadow Minister reacts to latest news on Wylfa Newydd nuclear project

Commenting on a report in The Sunday Times that the Welsh Government has made a last-ditch attempt to save a proposed nuclear power project at the Wylfa Newydd site by trying to take it over from Japanese industrial giant Hitachi, Shadow Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs – Janet Finch-Saunders MS – said:

“Welsh Conservatives are strong advocates of nuclear energy to transition from fossil fuels to greener forms of power, and have been disappointed as plans for the Wylfa site have seen setback after setback, especially the news last month that Horizon Nuclear Power had decided to withdraw its application to develop a nuclear power plant there.

“While we maintain that the Anglesey site is ideal for a nuclear power plant, I’d urge caution over – if accurate – reports that the Welsh Government is considering taking over the project. Its track record on major projects has been patchy to say the least.”

Mrs Finch-Saunders detailed the hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money squandered by the Labour Party – and its partners in Plaid and the LibDems – in Wales over just 10 years, which includes:

• £221m on uncompetitive Enterprise Zones
• £9.3m on flawed initial funding of the Circuit of Wales
• £97.9m on delays and overspend on the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road
• £157m on the M4 relief road inquiry
• Over £100m on propping up the state-owned Cardiff Airport

The Shadow Minister continued:

The decision by Hitachi to pull out of the £20-bilion Wylfa project, which would have generated up to 850 jobs was a blow for North Wales, and while we still want the project to go ahead in some form, it can’t be left to a Labour-led government – with its scandalously poor history of large-scale projects – to manage.”