Power play

Perhaps it was with this in mind that Energy and Climate Change

Secretary Chris Huhne announced yesterday, to the relief of many, that Britain is poised to have a new generation of nuclear power stations up and running within eight years.

This policy was always going to be contentious, given the Liberal Democrats' opposition to nuclear power and the "opt outs" that Mr Huhne secured when his party was negotiating its coalition agreement with the Tories.

Yet the Government could have avoided so much policy muddle in this area if Mr Huhne had provided, at the outset of his Ministerial career, the clarity that he offered yesterday rather than perpetuating the belief for three months – which he claims was false – that he was a nuclear sceptic who would put his principles before the national interest.

It is therefore, welcome, that Mr Huhne does not intend Britain's lights to go out on his watch, and that he recognises that Britain will require new nuclear power stations to complement the energy that will be generated by renewable sources, and whose reliability at times of peak demand is unproven.

Having tried to draw a line under the policy confusion, it is now up to the Minister to provide both a political lead, and some policy consistency.

Indeed, the reputation of both Mr Huhne, and the wider government, will be dependent upon the coalition ensuring that the country has sufficient sources of power for the future. Unnecessary and unhelpful political hot air will not fill the vacuum that the Government inherited from Labour.