“Today’s welcome news goes a long way towards making sure the lights do not go out,” said Mike Graham, National Secretary, on behalf of 21,000 people in the nuclear and energy industry.

“Government has no choice but to fast-track both nuclear new build and renewable projects if we are to address the urgent energy security and climate change threats facing us. These projects will create thousands of high-quality new jobs, at both the construction and operation stages, which can only be good news.

“It makes economic and social sense to do this. It is of deep concern to us that the Conservatives are planning to abolish the Infrastructure Planning Commission, with no credible alternative to replace it. This will only slow down planning decisions on vital nuclear and renewable projects.”

However, Graham emphasised the importance of taking on board the concerns of local communities in relation to the pylons and transmission lines necessary to link the new power stations to the national grid.