Lancaster Green candidate criticises council leader over letter to support extension of Heysham power stations

Coun Phillip Black, the Labour Party leader of Lancaster City Council, wrote a letter to the district’s two MPs and the Government supporting a bid by the energy company EDF to further extend the lives of both Heysham 1 & 2.

Coun Black cited the substantial contribution Lancaster City Council currently receives in business rates from the power stations.

However, Coun Jack Lenox has branded the letter “reckless”, saying: “Both of these power stations are now operating significantly beyond their original life expectancy. Any decision to extend their lives yet again is a safety critical, technical matter that must not be subject to political influence.

“I’m every bit as concerned as Coun Black about the financial situation of Lancaster City Council and many local councils around the country due to underfunding by central government. However, it is completely inappropriate for Coun Black to suggest that pressure on our budget should be a factor in extending the lives of these nuclear power stations.

“This is a decision for the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR). The ONR should not have external influences exert pressure on it. It must consider this matter based only on the crucial perspectives of safety and technical feasibility.”

Coun Lenox shared his frustration with Coun Black’s response to his question at a meeting of the council on January 24, saying: “Despite what looked like a planned and leading question from a Labour councillor praising the decision to support the extension of Heysham 1 & 2, the leader’s report didn’t include mention of it.

"I asked him why this was, and in what capacity he had written the letter, given he hadn’t consulted his largest coalition partner – the Greens. His answer was both that it was on behalf of himself, but also on behalf of the council because constitutionally he is the council’s principal spokesperson.”

Coun Lenox also criticised the leader for operating outside the terms of a collaboration agreement that currently forms the basis of a Labour/Green Party/Liberal Democrat coalition which runs Lancaster City Council.

He was backed in this by Coun Caroline Jackson, former Green leader of the council and current deputy leader, who said: “The key underpinning principle of the cross-party collaboration agreement was that the cabinet would be taking collective responsibility.

"In this case, far from consulting with cabinet, the leader did not even ensure Green and Liberal Democrat leaders had seen a draft of his email.”

In response, Coun Black said: “I have a lot of respect for Coun Lenox, however I am disappointed that he has doubled down on his assertion that nuclear power generation at Heysham is unsafe.

"Both in his question at council and in his comments to the press he has failed to cite any evidence to support this view. He is also implying there is political pressure being exerted on regulators and independent inspectors when he knows this to be false.

"When considering recklessness, I would suggest that using ones platform to stir up public safety concerns with baseless accusations for political gain is pretty reckless in itself. Hopefully he will either provide the evidence which supports his position, or have the decency to publicly retract these remarks.

“Furthermore, Green Party councillors were well aware of my intention to write to our MPs and the Government on this issue at least a week in advance of the letter being sent. At no time before the letter was sent did any Green Party colleagues suggest that there were ideological concerns about nuclear power from their group.

"This is especially frustrating in the case of Coun Caroline Jackson (the deputy leader) who had multiple opportunities to raise these concerns with me. Saying nothing, then framing this somewhat confected issue as evidence that I have not kept faith with our partnership agreements, is the kind of Machiavellian nonsense I hoped had ended with the last administration.

"I sincerely hope that this is not a sign that my Green Party colleagues are returning to their practice of conducting public character assassinations of their Labour partners.

“Our working agreement is based on principles of mutual respect and cooperation, of shared endeavour and pulling together for the common good. Labour remains utterly committed to the spirit of that arrangement, and looks to delivering on shared policies and values for the benefit of businesses and residents in our district. I call upon our Green politician partners to stop sabre rattling and return their focus to doing the same.”