"The Tories have taken a significant step away from their traditional support for nuclear power by rejecting key financial demands from the industry.
The party's stance could stymie government plans to build a new generation of nuclear power stations, because the industry wants cross-party consensus before it undertakes a programme that could take decades to complete.
The Tories have been fast changing tack on the issue as David Cameron has embraced a green agenda, including a strong role for renewables and micro-generation. Alan Duncan, the shadow industry secretary, is conducting the party's own energy review, focusing on the future provision of electricity. He will publish his party's views soon after the government's energy review next month.
The Tories are set to oppose giving a guaranteed price on the grid for nuclear-generated electricity, or a fixed quota for this power, two of the demands most vociferously advanced by the nuclear industry. By refusing to offer any subsidy or guarantees, the Tories will leave the industry struggling to convince investors that it has secured the long term regulatory framework to make the huge necessary capital investment."
This would remove what might otherwise be a serious barrier to the Tories becoming involved in a pact (or coalition?) with LibDems, SNP or even (whisper it softly) Greens. And it would leave Labour rather isolated if, as expected, Mr McConnell is eventually pushed off his present non-committal status into line with Mr Blair. What a fluid political world we are about to live in!
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