Scottish Labour candidate Eva Kestner has urged the Scottish Government to rethink its refusal to back new nuclear energy and warned that Scotland risks shutting itself out of major investment and skilled jobs for decades.
Kestner, who is standing in Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, said it is time for ministers to stop what she called playground politics and accept that modern nuclear power must be part of a balanced and secure energy mix.
She backed Torcuil Crichton MP who used Parliament to call for Scotland to benefit from the same opportunities now being delivered elsewhere in the UK.
Kestner said the Highlands already has the skills, infrastructure and workforce ready to take advantage of new development, pointing to the long standing expertise at Dounreay.
She said the UK is moving at pace on nuclear investment while Scotland risks watching from the sidelines.
Her warning follows the announcement that Anglesey in Wales will receive two point five billion pounds to deliver the UK’s first Small Modular Reactor, a project expected to create three thousand jobs at peak construction.
For Kestner, that contrast is stark.
“While Wales is securing thousands of future proofed jobs and billions in investment, Scotland is being left behind because the SNP refuses to have an adult conversation about nuclear energy,” she said.
“We need to stop treating nuclear power like a political playground fight and start recognising what every energy expert already knows, nuclear power is essential to a secure, balanced, low carbon energy mix.”
She praised the workforce at Dounreay and said the Highlands has shown for generations that nuclear work can deliver stable careers, strong safety standards and highly specialised skills.
She described the site as a cornerstone of the local economy.
She said Dounreay has provided the region with safe, unionised, well paid and highly skilled jobs and that communities deserve the chance to build on that heritage rather than see opportunities shift elsewhere in the UK.
“These workers deserve respect, not to be condemned or dismissed by a SNP government that refuses to look at the facts,” she said.
“Modern SMRs are safer, smaller and more efficient than anything in the past.
“Scotland should be leading on this technology, not slamming the door on it.”
She drew a direct comparison between Dounreay and Anglesey, saying both communities share a deep nuclear heritage and both are well placed for new projects.
“Anglesey has a strong nuclear heritage, just like Dounreay,” she said.
“The difference is that the Welsh Government is welcoming the future while the SNP continues to shut Scotland out of it.
“That political choice is costing us jobs, investment and hope for the next generation.”
Kestner called on the Scottish Government to lift its block on new nuclear, allow local communities to benefit from modern technology and ensure Scotland is not the only nation in the UK excluded from future nuclear development.
She said the choice now is simple.
Scotland can lead or it can fall behind.
