Keir Starmer unveils plan for large nuclear expansion across England and Wales | Nuclear power

Keir Starmer will unveil plans for a historic expansion in nuclear power across England and Wales, pledging to use Labour’s large majority to make new sites across the country available for new power stations.

The announcement follows the prime minister’s call for tech companies to work alongside the government to build small modular reactors (SMRs) to power energy intensive AI datacentres across Britain.

Speaking on Wednesday, Starmer vowed to “push past nimbyism” and warned his new rural and suburban MPs that he would “break through” if there was resistance and use his party’s big majority to ensure there could be no dissent.

The prime minister said that he anticipated smaller reactors could be built by 2032 and could become commonplace across Britain. He hinted the government was keen to offer consumers lower bills if they lived close to new obtrusive nuclear construction.

For the first time, the government will now allow nuclear projects to be built outside eight designated nuclear sites – meaning sites can be built anywhere in the country. Planning reforms will also pave the way for the building of small reactors, which Starmer said had been near impossible under previous rules.

But the reactors still face significant hurdles before being built. No commercial SMRs are yet operational across the world, and some have relied heavily on government financing.

Starmer said the new rules, due to be unveiled on Thursday, meant that nuclear was now a possibility all over the country. “That means that it will be in some areas where people hadn’t even thought there’s going to be anything nuclear near me. And yes, we’re going to have to push it through,” he said.

Asked if he would tolerate any blocking from MPs in his own party, he said: “No – this is where we’ve gone wrong for so long in this country. Everybody puts their hand up for infrastructure, for change … and then puts their hand up again to object to it being in their area.

“We’ve just got to break through that. We have got the advantage of a big majority to help us.”

Starmer issued an open invitation to tech companies such as Google, Meta and Amazon to invest in AI datacentres in Britain, which could be powered by small modular reactors.

“They are very keen to get the datacentres in and they’re very alive to the fact that the power is a big issue, so it is in their interest that this happens,” he said. “There’ll be a lot of sense in that, because it will give finance and a boost to the development.

“So if this takes off, then it’ll move. It could become more commonplace. People could get used to the idea of it.”

Starmer said there would be “no compromise on safety … It can’t be with nuclear.” But he said new SMRs would be “quicker to build, small, placed next to a particular facility that needs the power”.

He said the government was open to the idea of locals getting money off their energy bills, similar to the government’s commitment for new green energy infrastructure. “The principle is straightforward,” he said.

The prime minister said he did not anticipate inviting Chinese companies to invest in the new nuclear push – a divisive issue for previous nuclear projects – and said it was intended to be “trusted partners”.

The changes, which were first developed several months before Labour won last year’s general election, would bring planning for nuclear power in line with other forms of generation. They could allow for future nuclear power in areas with proposals for energy-intensive industry such as Teesside, or for AI datacentres near Oxford and Cambridge – although no sites have yet been chosen.

An industry source said the changes would be welcome in the longer term, but that planning was not the main obstacle holding back SMRs.

The FTSE 100 manufacturer Rolls-Royce, which hopes to build several SMRs within the next decade, has previously criticised government delays to the competition to procure the reactors. Rolls-Royce is up against three North American rivals.

Starmer acknowledged that the government needed to “make decisions more quickly” and said Thursday’s announcement was a “great opportunity” for companies such as Rolls-Royce, which he said was “among the best in the world”.

As well as a signal to business, Labour strategists also see the drive for nuclear as a useful political dividing line on growth – with the Greens, Liberal Democrats and the SNP all opposed to nuclear.

“Instead of rolling up our sleeves and unlocking the potential of nuclear power, Britain has endured a decade of delay under successive Tory governments,” a government source said. “Even now, the SNP flat-out refuse to support it. As for the Greens – they are against both nuclear and pylons that carry renewable energy.”

While the announcement was welcomed by key industry figures, Greenpeace said it was “nuclear industry spin … given that not a single one has been built, and with the nuclear industry’s record of being overtime and over-budget unmatched by any other sector.

“And as for the unsolved problem of nuclear waste management, government don’t see the need to mention it at all.”