Huge shift in public opinion on nuclear energy shows SNP must rethink its 'ideological' stance

A majority of Scots, and a majority of SNP supporters, agree that nuclear energy should be part of our energy mix

In 2022, a poll by Ipsos found 39 per cent of respondents backed the idea of building nuclear power stations in Scotland, with 32 per cent opposed. Now, a new survey has found 56 per cent think nuclear should be part of Scotland’s clean energy mix to help meet net zero, more than double the proportion, 23 per cent, who disagree.

Interestingly, despite the SNP’s insistence that Scotland should be ‘nuclear free’, 57 per cent of those who voted for the party in last year's general election backed nuclear, according to the poll by Opinium for campaign group Britain Remade.

The SNP found itself under attack from both the political left and right on the issue, with Labour’s Martin Whitfield warning “if we don't act soon to end this ideological opposition, Scotland will lose its nuclear energy capacity entirely, damaging jobs and the economy”. The Conservatives’ John Lamont said it was “absolutely ridiculous” for the SNP to oppose nuclear “especially since it is clean energy that doesn't harm the environment”.

Scotland's last remaining active nuclear reactor, at Torness in East Lothian, is due to shut down in 2030 (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell) | Getty Images

‘Doomed to fail’?

A 2022 report by the International Energy Agency concluded that “nuclear energy can help make the energy sector's journey away from unabated fossil fuels faster and more secure” and suggested that global nuclear power should be almost doubled by 2050 in order to reach net zero. Failing to do this would make decarbonising the economy “harder and more expensive”, it warned.

READ MORE: Targeted campaign to sell Grangemouth's future to the world as dozens of investors line up

The SNP cannot have it both ways. To stand in the way of more nuclear power is to stand in the way of progress towards net zero, an aim that is increasingly under attack by politicians like Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who believes it is now “impossible” to meet the 2050 target date, and former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, who claimed this week that “any strategy based on either 'phasing out' fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to fail”.

Public opinion has clearly shifted on nuclear energy. The SNP, which appears unwilling to offend the anti-nuclear lobby for reasons that may be more to do with maintaining support for independence than anything else, needs to move with the times.