Nuclear Energy needs a real debate - Gazette leaders column by Mike Cox

9.43.48am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 26th Jul 2006

This Friday marks the 37th anniversary of the first man to walk on the Moon. If you're around my age you might remember those shimmering black and white pictures and Neil Armstrong saying "That's one small step for man but one giant leap for mankind."

In those days we had no satellite or cable television; just BBC and ITV, some could get BBC2 and most TVs were black and white. There were no mobile phones, no computers, no microwave ovens or digital watches.

On the other hand, nuclear power had become established by 1969. The first station, Calder Hall, opened in 1956, but the very next year a fire at another nuclear plant - Windscale caused radioactivity to be released and sales of local milk were banned. I remember this vividly as I was brought up only a few miles down the road. Infamously, the authorities renamed the site "Sellafield" in the vain hope of saving face. Was that the start of political spin?

Since then we've had two other major disasters - at Three Mile Island (1979) and at Chernobyl (1986). Even now we still haven't found a safe way of disposing of the by-products from the nuclear reaction, leaving the problem of the spent fuel for our descendants thousands of years into the future to worry about.

Yes, we need to re-think our energy needs, and to reduce our dependency on imports. Reliance on nuclear power in not an answer. If we spent a fraction of the money needed to clean up nuclear stations on energy efficiency measures we would save a massive import bill. I recently started using energy efficient bulbs but there is so much more that could be done. Blair promised a debate on nuclear energy but we didn?t get one.

Labour seem hell bent on ignoring public opinion. That's why in June's by-election in Bromley they struggled into fourth place. Can it really be wise for whoever leads the Labour party (is it Tony or Gordon today?) to trample over genuine public concerns on nuclear safety?

A sound energy policy is vital not just for the economic health of this country but also for our own national security. We need a full and frank debate and we need it now before it is too late. At a time when we remember the victims of 7/7 and look in horror at the carnage in Mumbai only a few days ago it is more important than ever that people trust the decisions that are being made in their name.