‘There is a realisation we could do more on nuclear’

didn’t want to see large scale, onshore winds in their vicinity ... I think that’s changed”.

He confirms that ministers are discussing possible “incentives”, such as reduced energy bills, that could be offered to locals in exchange for agreeing to the development of a wind farm in their area. Asked about the scale of the Government’s nuclear ambitions, Mr Kwarteng says: “There is a realisation across government that we could do more on nuclear.”

He adds: “With energy, you’re thinking maybe 30, even 40 years [ahead]. If we fast forward to 2050, there is a world where we have six or seven sites in the UK.

“That isn’t going to happen in the next two years. But it’s definitely something that we can aspire to.

“The Prime Minister said, in terms of the energy generation mix, we could see maybe a quarter of that being nuclear, I’d say 15 to 25 per cent ... But obviously, in the first three years, you’re not going to suddenly have six new nuclear stations in three years. I mean, it’s physically impossible to do that.”

Asked what arguments he has used to lobby Mr Sunak for vast sums of money at a time when the Chancellor is resisting further public spending, he says: “I think it’s a long term thing. And also, we’re committed to having a vehicle which looks at this, and which actually can facilitate that, and I think there’s a measure of agreement on that. Obviously I don’t want to anticipate what’s in the strategy.

“But I think there is a realisation across government that we could do more on nuclear, and that’s why in the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan, which was published in November 2020 – it was less than 18 months ago, but it feels like it was 10 years – the third point was all about nuclear.”

Mr Kwarteng says that if the emerging technology of small modular reactors was successful, Britain could deploy up to 10 on one site to provide the equivalent output of a large-scale nuclear plant.