LABOUR'S shadow business secretary shared his thoughts on the future of nuclear in Cumbria on a visit to Whitehaven last week.

Jonathan Reynolds visited the town along with Whitehaven and Workington Labour candidate Josh MacAlister.

Ex-Sellafield CEO Paul Foster has secured funding for SMRs and the pair were asked if Labour would fast-track these decisions. 

Mr Reynolds said: "We're very supportive of SMRs and very much believe new nuclear is part of the route to net zero.

"The need to massively increase the electricity supply in the UK as we move towards electrification in a whole range of things: domestic heating, industrial production requires a huge amount of investment that currently isn't happening.

"And so fast-tracking those investment decisions whether that's about the regulatory regime, the investment grid, the planning system which is a delay on some of this, that is a massive priority for us.

"This part of the world is one of the places where new nuclear could be a feature. You've got Anglesea, Hartlepool, the Sussex side of England so those decisions obviously have to go through due process.

"But people should be in no doubt that we are about vastly increasing both the level of investment going in and the speed of decision making that will facilitate using private money that is willing to invest if some of those regulatory barriers are removed and I think we can do that."

Mr McAlister added: "Labour's mission is to make the UK a green energy superpower and a huge part of that is unquestionable backing for new nuclear. 

"People should be in no doubt Labour is a pro-nuclear party, I'm a pro-nuclear local candidate, the key to west Cumbria's future will be in securing stable, reliable, energy and going into the new industrial and manufacturing jobs we've been talking about.

"Local leaders like Paul and the work he's doing to come up with answers here is absolutely the sort of plan that should be getting backing from the government."