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Winds of Change

New Ground 64
Spring 2003

Mike Malina reflects on our Energy Group’s long fight for a sane energy policy

The Energy Group has been at the heart of SERA’s campaigns and activities for most of SERA’s existence. At some times the group, as our main activity, virtually was SERA.

At SERA’s 15th anniversary in 1988, I was a co-chair and remember talking with members as to where we might be in another 15 years. Would we ever see a Labour government? Or a national energy policy, with phasing out of nuclear power and renewable energy coming to the fore? Or a national energy conservation programme?

Events that affected the Energy Group start with the 1978 Windscale enquiry. Energy Secretary Tony Benn gave the go-ahead for what is now the Sellafield reprocessing plant. Then in 1984, the bitter miners’ strike was not only a terrible experience for the Labour movement, but made us look differently at energy policy.

One of SERA’s greatest triumphs came in 1985, as we successfully changed Labour Party policy from pro- to anti-nuclear energy. It was a personal highlight when I moved the composite resolution as a constituency delegate. This was how Labour conference used to be: democratic open debate, with little stage management and spin.

A year later, our campaign to firm up a sane, non-nuclear energy policy was boosted by events at Chernobyl, which ultimately resulted in 196 energy resolutions, the largest number on one policy area in Labour’s history.

The Sizewell enquiry was also in the mid-1980s. Later, when developing a future Labour government position on Sizewell B, SERA inspired our then president, Robin Cook, to make an amendment at Labour’s NEC that would commit the party when in power to refuse to commission Sizewell B. At the same time we met the shadow energy secretary, Tony Blair. He refused to commit to any position and subsequently wrote to the party general secretary "I do not believe the Party need or should take a irrevocable decision on Sizewell now… We do not know the full financial or environmental consequences of a decision to commission or not to commission it". He asked the NEC to reconsider. Thus we had our first real taste of a future Labour government’s attitude to the nuclear industry.

Throughout the 1990s, now affiliated to Labour, we contributed to debates on renewable energy, energy conservation, fuel poverty and combined heat and power. In 1991-93, SERA campaigned against electricity privatisation, although some of us were amused at the idea of a privatised nuclear industry – "it would go bust". How right we were!

As the prospect of a Labour government loomed in 1996, SERA put considerable effort into reviews to influence future energy policies. We were excited when Labour was elected with a 170-seat majority in 1997. However, after high-level meetings with ministers, we became disappointed at the slow progress made, despite the manifesto pledge to "put environment at the heart of government."

In 1998, we published some of SERA’s best work. Taking a Cool Look was our view on climate change. Another analysis was the economics of nuclear versus renewable energy.

In 2001, Labour allowed Sellafield to operate its MOX plant and send plutonium abroad, despite the risk of terrorist attacks – all the more worrying after recent events.