The Forgemasters saga shows little sign of abating and is sure to be rekindled in the run-up to what will surely be an explosive Comprehensive Spending Review in October.
What is striking is just how divided business
opinion is on the Forgemasters loan. Judging from
businesses I speak to it is virtually torn down the
middle between those who don’t think the
company should have been going cap in hand to
the government in the first place, and those who
feel that the nuclear industry is one sector that
just cannot be left to market forces.
Unsurprisingly guests at our nuclear debate this month (see page 21) were firmly in the latter camp, although they were also quick to slam the banks too for not coming forward and striking a deal to help make the Forgemasters investment happen.
There is a much wider picture here, too, that has got lost amid the minutae of the argument. Namely, that the UK will simply have to commit sooner or later to new nuclear stations to have any chance of meeting its carbon targets. If the likes of Forgemasters aren’t in the thick of building new stations then, quite simply, plenty of foreign companies will be. Whatever you thought about Peter Mandelson, his ‘industrial activism’ strategy certainly had logic. After all, you can bet if we’re not doing it the French and Germans will be.
Another element to all this is the Liberal Democrats’ historic opposition to nuclear energy and how that plays out in the coalition. Recent government thinking is that the industry can pull its own weight without a subsidy model, so maybe Forgemasters shouldn’t take things quite so personally – it’s the whole industry.
But for British – and Yorkshire – manufacturers that want to seize the opportunities of tomorrow at home and abroad this must be galling.
Last year work started on 11 new nuclear power stations around the world, while in the US there are more than 30 licence applications waiting in the wings. There are no ‘ifs’ here. Barring another Chernobyl or Three Mile Island this is going to happen and a leg-up for our companies to compete on this world stage surely wouldn’t go amiss.
Jim Pendrill, editor
Also in: August 2010
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A winning formula
The sale of his Hallam Beauty beauty care products business has put entrepreneur Graham Royle under the spotlight for the first time. Jim Pendrill shines a light on Sheffield’s man of mystery.
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Retail revolution
With construction on Trinity Leeds scheduled to begin this month, Richard Abbott looks at what impact the retail and leisure development will have on the city.