What is Sizewell C – and why is it so controversial?
The UK is one step closer to a new nuclear power plant after the government announced a further £14.2bn in funding.
Sizewell C, near the town of Leiston on the Suffolk coast, is due to be up and running by the mid-2030s.
While the government claims the new facility represents a “golden age of clean energy” and says it will create thousands of jobs – those against it warn of the catastrophic consequences of a nuclear accident and damage to the local environment.
Here we look at what is due to be built at the Sizewell site – and why the project is so controversial.
What is Sizewell C?
The new site will house two nuclear reactors – generating up to 3.2 gigawatts of electricity, which is enough to power six million homes.
The government says it could meet 7% of the country’s total energy needs for up to 60 years.
It was initially proposed by the French energy company EDF and China’s General Nuclear Power Group, but the previous government bought the Chinese company out of its 20% stake in 2022.
Together, the UK government and EDF now own 83.5% of the site.
It is located near Sizewell beach – next to Sizewell A, a decommissioned nuclear site that opened in 1967, and Sizewell B, which is still running – and was the last nuclear site to open in the UK in 1995.
The proposed new plant heads up a raft of new clean energy measures. Pic: EDF
Previous funding announcements mean the state has now invested a total of £17.8bn, with a final funding model due to be released this summer after private investors are secured to bridge the gap to the total £20bn cost.
Taxpayer money is expected to contribute £700m.
Sizewell in Suffolk in the east of England
How long has it been in the making?
The project dates back to 2008, when then Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared the UK needed to boost its nuclear capacity.
There are four nuclear sites running in the UK – at Heysham, Hartlepool, Torness, and Sizewell B.
In 2010, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition earmarked Sizewell as a potential new site.
EDF began consulting with locals in the area in 2012, finally submitting its development consent order in May 2020.
The Sizewell A and B power stations in Suffolk. Pic: Reuters
It was granted in July 2022 despite the Planning Inspectorate’s recommendations it should be blocked over environmental concerns.
It also fought off a judicial review at the Court of Appeal brought by protest group Together Against Sizewell C.
Construction by EDF is due to start in the next year – and is set to take between nine and 12 years.
The Suffolk Coast with Sizewell B in the background. Pic: Reuters
Why are people against it?
Two campaign groups – Together Against Sizewell C and Stop Sizewell C – have spearheaded efforts to block the site.
Locally, they say construction will damage 150 hectares of land nearby, which is home to two different nature reserves and thousands of birds, animals, and plant species. The appeal also cited concerns it would compromise local water supplies and may run over budget or fail to even get off the ground like the now-scrapped HS2 trainline.
More generally, nuclear power is very controversial.
Read more: Government announces £14.2bn Sizewell funding
While it does not produce carbon emissions like traditional fossil fuels, any nuclear activity is exceedingly high-risk.
Nuclear fission is the process by which uranium atoms are broken down into smaller particles to produce heat, which is then boiled to create steam that powers turbines to create electricity.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says all its regulated sites are the “safest and most secure facilities in the world” and subject to strict independent safety measures.
But high-profile nuclear accidents, although incredibly rare, have leaked deadly radiation into the atmosphere, killing people and likely poisoning others for generations to come.
These include the explosion at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine in 1986 and the partial meltdown of one of the reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan following a tsunami in 2011.
Nuclear fission also produces huge amounts of radioactive waste, which has to be safely stored for hundreds of years and anti-nuclear campaigners worry about the safety of these storage sites.
Together Against Sizewell C campaigners outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London in 2023. Pic: PA
What are the arguments for it?
The government wants to use nuclear energy to help meet its target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association Tom Greatrex has described Sizewell C as a “huge step forward” both for net zero – and energy security.
The Ukraine war compromised global gas and oil supplies, much of which came from Russia, sending prices rocketing.
Since then, Ukraine’s Western allies have made efforts to become more autonomous with energy production.
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Britain’s nuclear sector grew by a quarter to £20bn in the three years to 2024, with another site at Hinkley Point in Somerset currently under construction.
Some countries, like France, where EDF is based, already rely heavily on nuclear power.
Sizewell C will also create 10,000 new jobs and 1,500 apprenticeships, boosting the local and UK economy.
Around £330m has been tendered to local companies in contracts, with 70% of all those commissioned going to 3,500 British suppliers.
Mr Greatex said: “Sizewell C will provide reliable low-carbon power for more than 80 years, cutting gas use, creating thousands of high-quality skilled jobs, and long-term investment and opportunity up and down the country.”
Labour’s deputy leadership contest is on the brink of becoming a two-horse race between Bridget Phillipson and Lucy Powell, as the other three candidates scramble for nominations.
The official tally from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) on Wednesday night put Ms Phillipson, the education secretary, ahead with 116 nominations.
Politics Hub: Catch up on The Immigration Debate
Ms Powell, the former Commons leader who was ousted in Sir Keir Starmer’s reshuffle last week, is behind with 77 – just three shy of the 80 needed to make it to the next round.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Paula Barker and Dame Emily Thornberry all had support from 15 or fewer MPs as of Wednesday evening, fuelling speculation they could follow in the footsteps of housing minister Alison McGovern and pull out.
Ms Barker, the MP for Liverpool Wavetree, told Sky News she was “genuinely undecided” and had a lot to consider.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson kept her job in the recent reshuffle. Pic: PA
Ms Barker, a former trade union official, has challenged the government on Gaza and welfare cuts and is part of the newly formed soft-left “Mainstream group”.
Her allies are keen for her to stay in the race, with one telling Sky News she “outshone the others by miles” during an online hustings event for MPs, and would be a “real alternative for the membership”.
Her supporters are expected to throw their weight behind Ms Powell if she does drop out, with one saying of the Manchester Central MP: “She is closer to Andy Burnham, and she was just sacked, so those who dislike Morgan McSweeney [the prime minister’s chief of staff] I guess will get behind her.”
However, while describing her as “slightly more left” than Ms Phillipson, they said she is “hardly a socialist”.
Lucy Powell was sacked as leader of the Commons last week. Pic: PA
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Some MPs want to avoid a race between Ms Powell and Ms Phillipson, believing there is not much difference in what they offer, but others had more praise for the former, calling her performance at the hustings impressive.
One MP said: “Her pitch is that she’s been the shop steward of the parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) in government, but now she’s not in government she can dedicate herself to the role of deputy leader full time without a department to run. She wants to focus on defining our voter coalition and making sure we’re speaking to them.”
They added that Ms Phillipson might be too busy to fulfil the deputy leadership role, especially with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) reform coming down the track “which could be a horror show”.
Ms Phillipson has been making the case to MPs about her experience fighting populism in her Houghton & Sunderland South seat in the North East, where Reform UK is on the rise.
Dr Jeevun Sandher said he was won over by the education secretary following her pitch at the hustings in which she also spoke about the cost of living crisis.
The MP for Loughborough told Sky News: “Bridget was strong, articulate, and very impressive. She was able to communicate the deep thought we need to govern well and win the next election.”
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What do unions want from Labour’s new deputy?
The deputy leadership race was triggered by the resignation of former deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner after she admitted underpaying stamp duty on a flat.
The candidates need 80 backers by 5pm Thursday. As of Wednesday evening’s tally, 235 MPs had made their nominations out of Labour’s 398 MPs.
Ms McGovern pulled out on Wednesday afternoon, saying it was “clear that the momentum of this contest had shifted, and I am not going to progress to the next stage”.
The MP for Birkenhead was rumoured to be Number 10’s preference before it was clear Ms Phillipson – who she has since nominated – would enter the race.
Timeline for the race
Many Labour MPs are keen to see someone who would work constructively with the prime minister to avoid the party becoming more divided.
There are also calls for the deputy leader to be from the north to balance out the number of cabinet ministers who represent London seats – which both Dame Emily and Ms Riberio-Addy do.
If more than one candidate secures 80 nominations by Thursday evening, they will then need to gain backing from either three of Labour’s affiliate organisations, including two trade unions, or 5% of constituency parties.
That process will continue until 27 September, meaning a contested election threatens to overshadow the party’s annual conference that begins in Liverpool the next day.
The successful candidates will then appear on the ballot for a vote of all party members and affiliated party supporters, which will open on 8 October and close on 23 October at 12pm.
The winner will be announced on Saturday 25 October.
Labour’s deputy leadership contest is on the brink of becoming a two-horse race between Bridget Phillipson and Lucy Powell, as the other three candidates scramble for nominations.
The official tally from the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) on Wednesday night put Ms Phillipson, the education secretary, ahead with 116 nominations.
Politics Hub: Catch up on The Immigration Debate
Ms Powell, the former Commons leader who was ousted in Sir Keir Starmer’s reshuffle last week, is behind with 77 – just three shy of the 80 needed to make it to the next round.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Paula Barker and Dame Emily Thornberry all had support from 15 or fewer MPs as of Wednesday evening, fuelling speculation they could follow in the footsteps of housing minister Alison McGovern and pull out.
Ms Barker, the MP for Liverpool Wavetree, told Sky News she was “genuinely undecided” and had a lot to consider.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson kept her job in the recent reshuffle. Pic: PA
Ms Barker, a former trade union official, has challenged the government on Gaza and welfare cuts and is part of the newly formed soft-left “Mainstream group”.
Her allies are keen for her to stay in the race, with one telling Sky News she “outshone the others by miles” during an online hustings event for MPs, and would be a “real alternative for the membership”.
Her supporters are expected to throw their weight behind Ms Powell if she does drop out, with one saying of the Manchester Central MP: “She is closer to Andy Burnham, and she was just sacked, so those who dislike Morgan McSweeney [the prime minister’s chief of staff] I guess will get behind her.”
However, while describing her as “slightly more left” than Ms Phillipson, they said she is “hardly a socialist”.
Lucy Powell was sacked as leader of the Commons last week. Pic: PA
Read more politics news:
Who is Peter Mandelson?
How many illegal migrants are in Britain?
Some MPs want to avoid a race between Ms Powell and Ms Phillipson, believing there is not much difference in what they offer, but others had more praise for the former, calling her performance at the hustings impressive.
One MP said: “Her pitch is that she’s been the shop steward of the parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) in government, but now she’s not in government she can dedicate herself to the role of deputy leader full time without a department to run. She wants to focus on defining our voter coalition and making sure we’re speaking to them.”
They added that Ms Phillipson might be too busy to fulfil the deputy leadership role, especially with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) reform coming down the track “which could be a horror show”.
Ms Phillipson has been making the case to MPs about her experience fighting populism in her Houghton & Sunderland South seat in the North East, where Reform UK is on the rise.
Dr Jeevun Sandher said he was won over by the education secretary following her pitch at the hustings in which she also spoke about the cost of living crisis.
The MP for Loughborough told Sky News: “Bridget was strong, articulate, and very impressive. She was able to communicate the deep thought we need to govern well and win the next election.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What do unions want from Labour’s new deputy?
The deputy leadership race was triggered by the resignation of former deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner after she admitted underpaying stamp duty on a flat.
The candidates need 80 backers by 5pm Thursday. As of Wednesday evening’s tally, 235 MPs had made their nominations out of Labour’s 398 MPs.
Ms McGovern pulled out on Wednesday afternoon, saying it was “clear that the momentum of this contest had shifted, and I am not going to progress to the next stage”.
The MP for Birkenhead was rumoured to be Number 10’s preference before it was clear Ms Phillipson – who she has since nominated – would enter the race.
Timeline for the race
Many Labour MPs are keen to see someone who would work constructively with the prime minister to avoid the party becoming more divided.
There are also calls for the deputy leader to be from the north to balance out the number of cabinet ministers who represent London seats – which both Dame Emily and Ms Riberio-Addy do.
If more than one candidate secures 80 nominations by Thursday evening, they will then need to gain backing from either three of Labour’s affiliate organisations, including two trade unions, or 5% of constituency parties.
That process will continue until 27 September, meaning a contested election threatens to overshadow the party’s annual conference that begins in Liverpool the next day.
The successful candidates will then appear on the ballot for a vote of all party members and affiliated party supporters, which will open on 8 October and close on 23 October at 12pm.
The winner will be announced on Saturday 25 October.
“I’m incredibly patriotic,” says Ross, “I love our flag.”
He’s pulling a trailer loaded with England flags, otherwise known as the flag of St George, and Union flags, while his friends carry a ladder.
They’re heading out to fly flags from lamp posts in his hometown, Lichfield.
The group carried flags to raise around Lichfield
We’re here to spend an evening with them – keen to understand why flags are appearing on streets across England and what people make of it.
As the flags go up, several passing drivers beep and shout their support.
But it isn’t long before a man and woman walk past, visibly annoyed.
“Shameful behaviour,” the woman tells the group.
One of Ross’s group calls back: “Why can’t you be proud?”
“I am proud, but we’re absolutely tripping over from patriotism to an overt display of nationalism,” the man replies.
“There have been many occasions throughout history where the British flag has been adopted by groups that I don’t agree with”.
It’s a tense moment.
Read more:
Immigration becomes voters’ top issue again
What’s driven UK’s immigration levels?
Octavia raises a flag in Lichfield
I ask Ross, 27, if the flying of the flags is timed to coincide with concerns about immigration.
“Yes,” he replies. “My personal stance on it is, yes, this is us saying ‘you’re in our country’, right?
“This is what we stand for, you bow to this flag how we do, right, and you shouldn’t be doing illegal things, and for example, raping the women and committing crimes, which we don’t agree with.”
Ross says there’s nothing wrong with being patriotic
He tells me some of the handful of people he’s with went to the same school as him. But Octavia, the only woman in their group, only met them recently.
“She bumped into us the other day, and now she’s a full-fledged flagger,” Ross says.
Octavia, 27, lifts her jumper to reveal she’s wearing an England flag dress.
“I saw him putting up the flags and I genuinely wondered why,” she says.
“He kind of explained to me, like, we’re protecting people of Britain, we are spreading awareness, that is literally all, and I was really happy to get involved”.
Octavia says she was happy to get involved
As the next flag is being put up, a man walks past and breaks into song.
“No surrender, no surrender, no surrender to the boats coming over,” he sings.
Ross, filming him, thanks him for his “performance”.
Many opinions but few solutions for debate that crosses dividing lines
Over the course of an evening in Lichfield, we struggled to find anyone who didn’t have an opinion on the flags appearing around the town.
Yet we did find people who were reticent to speak on camera, particularly those opposed to the flags being there.
This is a town where around 93% of residents were born in England, according to the census in 2021.
Unlike many British towns and cities, there is little visible evidence of the mass migration this country has experienced in recent decades.
Octavia, the newest recruit to the group of “flaggers” we met, grew up in Leicester, where just under 58% of people were born in England.
After meeting people opposed to the flags in Lichfield, she told me “they’re wealthy, they live in a nice area, they don’t actually have to go through the struggles that everybody else does”.
She then revealed her opposition to migrant hotels is in part because she was once at risk of homelessness and didn’t get state support.
But from what we saw, it would be wrong to conclude that there are obvious dividing lines in this debate.
On both sides, there were people from a range of different backgrounds, young and old.
Some see a display of pure patriotism. To others, it’s blatant nationalism that has to stop.
But in these uneasy times, the removal of any flags has been seized on as a political act that has sparked anger in communities.
A woman sees it all happen and tells us her husband has written to the council to ask for the flags to be removed.
She’s unhappy about how it may make the town feel for some people.
But she doesn’t want to go on camera – or even have her words recorded.
Bob says the number of flags going up has become ‘extreme’
I ask Ross about his political views.
He says he doesn’t belong to any party, but he tells me he supports Tommy Robinson – and had been with him the previous evening.
He got the flags they’re putting up from him.
Further down the street, we meet Bob. He’s just out for dinner. We get talking about the flags.
“It’s not a racist thing just to be wanting to look after your people,” Ross tells him.
Bob agrees, but is concerned about why flags are going up now.
Tap here to see the full line-up for Sky News’ The Immigration Debate
“It’s become quite extreme,” he says. I ask if he thinks the flag is being used as a racist symbol. “100% yeah, I do,” he says.
But an elderly couple over the road completely disagrees with him. “Of course, we support St George’s flag, we’re British,” the woman says.
Read more on immigration:
What’s driven UK’s astounding immigration levels?
Labour weigh up military barracks to house asylum seekers
How much does the UK rely on legal migration?
“There’s nothing wrong with showing the English flag,” her husband agrees.
It’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t have a view on the flags appearing around the town. We leave Lichfield with a sense that they’re provoking strong feelings on both sides of a very live national debate.
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