Scottish Election 2011: Scots not turned off nuclear by Japan disaster

Published on Saturday 2 April 2011 16:42

THE exploding Japanese power stations have failed to turn Scots against nuclear power with more than half still believing that nuclear power should be part of Scotland's energy mix.

For every Scot who believes that there is no place for nuclear power in Scotland, there are two others who believe that the controversial method of generating electricity has a future in the country, a poll for Scotland on Sunday reveals.

The findings are a blow to Alex Salmond, who has made a no-nuclear stance a key strand of the SNP election campaign. Iain Gray's Labour Party has argued that there should not be a presumption against building new nuclear power stations resulting in the issue becoming one of the few policies that divides the two main parties apart from independence.

The YouGov poll found that 52 per cent of those sampled agreed that Scotland needed nuclear power along with other forms of energy. On the other side of the argument 26 per cent disagreed, suggesting they believed there was no need for nuclear power.

The results of the poll, which was carried out after the series of explosions that threatened to trigger nuclear meltdown in Japan, were remarkably similar to one carried out six years ago - suggesting that the disaster not had much impact on public opinion when it came to energy provision. A poll in 2005 found that 53 per cent of Scots favoured nuclear being part of the energy mix as opposed to 24 per cent who disagreed. Some 30 per cent of Scotland's electricity comes from the country's two nuclear power stations, Hunterston in Ayrshire and Torness in East Lothian. Salmond has championed a "renewable revolution" with three-quarters of Scotland's energy supply coming from green sources within a decade.

Yesterday an SNP spokesman said: "Energy and the hazards of nuclear power have emerged as a major election issue, and there can be no doubt that the overwhelming case for re-industrialising Scotland by developing our comparative advantages in all other energy technologies - renewables, carbon capture, and combined cycle gas - will win the energy debate over Labour's position of importing expensive and uninsurable nuclear technology from other countries. The last parliament specifically rejected a new generation of nuclear power stations, in a vote on 17 January 2008."

But Labour accused the SNP of using the Japanese experience to try and make political capital. Lewis Macdonald, Labour candidate for Aberdeen Central, said: "This (poll] shows the SNP is completely out of kilter with most Scots. Labour strongly supports our renewable revolution, but we a need a broad mix of low-carbon energy sources. Ever since the tragedy in Japan, the SNP have prosecuted a cheap and distasteful campaign to try and make this a political football in the Scottish Parliament election. Clearly people are turned-off by that kind of politicking." The results of the poll, were welcomed by those politicians who believe that nuclear power must play an important role in ensuring that the electricity supply can meet demand. Murdo Fraser, Conservative deputy leader, said: "Despite what many of the other parties in Scotland will have you believe, these findings are proof that Scots want a balanced energy mix to best serve our needs." John McNamara, spokesman for the Nuclear Industry Association which represents 250 UK-based nuclear firms said: "The UK is taking a very calm and measured approach to the events in Japan. The UK has shown political leadership and led the way with calm and clear statements that underline that nuclear is now, and must be in the future, a major part of our low-carbon energy needs."

The poll also looked at other forms of energy at a time when the construction of wind farms is proving controversial. Suggestions that they perform poorly in cold weather and the unreliability of the elements have been amongst the arguments put forward by those, who are sceptical that renewables can meet Scotland's energy needs. But the survey found that 59 per cent of those questioned believed that wind farms did more good than damage, against 16 per cent who thought they did more damage than good.

With the visual impact of the enormous pylons that are part of the plans for the Beauly-Denny power line a major concern in Central Scotland, 40 per cent of those questioned thought that new hydroelectric and wind farms should only be allowed if they did "not lead to more pylons being built across Scotland". Around the same proportion (38 per cent) disagreed, thinking that pylons should not prohibit new projects of that nature. According to the poll, 41 per cent of Scots thought that nuclear power stations were greener than their coal and gas counterparts, while 36 per cent thought that nuclear, coal and gas electricity production should be ditched and only green methods pursued.

Only 19 per cent were prepared to pay more for electricity if they knew that it was produced in a more environmentally responsible manner.