ALEX BRUMMER: Miliband is missing the nuclear button

So far, Ed Miliband has remained silent on new nuclear energy. Addressing nuclear industry bigwigs this week, the Secretary of Energy declared that “nuclear power offers enormous opportunities for our clean energy mission.”

All of that is splendid. However, the snail’s pace of the British administration, highlighted by the Prime Minister in his December 5 “targets” speech, always gets in the way.

There are real doubts about the extent to which Miliband is pushing the atomic energy agenda. If the UK wants to have security of energy supply and persists in its demonization of the North Sea, then it will need a nuclear baseload. This is necessary to keep the lights on and the electric vehicle network on.

Furthermore, it will also involve huge amounts of new electricity to power data centers if Britain is to embrace artificial intelligence and the digital world.

Miliband has bought time by extending the life of old equipment in Heysham, Hartlepool and Torness. This is necessary, because decision-making on new nuclear weapons has been very slow. The country relies on old, noisy plants, often subject to closures for safety reasons.

The Energy Secretary made it look like Sizewell C would surely get the £2.7bn of government funding, mentioned in the Budget, to boost the development.

Authorization will have to wait until Rachel Reeves’ spending review, which is delayed until June 2025.

Meanwhile, the government in Prague is promoting with Rolls-Royce the deployment of small modular reactors (SMR), using pioneering turbines in the UK submarine fleet.

Britain is in the slow lane, persisting in a global auction before giving the nod to a national champion.

SMRs represent a sector where a green manufacturing revolution is possible in the UK. The horse has already escaped to Denmark in search of wind farms, Sweden and Poland in search of heat pumps, and China in search of solar panels. If SMRs are to drive a fourth industrial revolution, Britain should follow the Czech and American example and get on with the job.

A decision is promised in the spring. Why are we waiting?

direct action

Amanda Blanc wasted no time in forcing Direct Line to do a deal. If regulatory approvals are secured, Aviva will quickly secure the reins of the motor insurance pioneer, which was the first UK insurer to spot the opportunity to go direct to the consumer rather than using intermediaries.

Aviva will fund the £3.61bn deal using £1.75bn of cash and company shares. Unlike so many recent deals in the UK, the transaction does not involve taking on a mountain of debt. Details on how the offering will be implemented are sketchy, but it is expected that Direct Line’s headquarters will be removed and policies and administration moved to capable Aviva platforms.

There is unlikely to be room for Direct Line chief executive Adam Winslow and his senior Aviva emigre colleagues.

Winslow can take solace in the fact that his incentive shares will vest and he could receive a £3m payout.

The Aviva-Direct Line deal will face scrutiny from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) amid justified concerns that the presence of a much bigger beast on the market could mean higher premiums. Aviva is confident it can demonstrate to the CMA that there is already fierce competition in the motor and home insurance markets.

When you look at it segmentally, such as electric vehicles, women, and younger drivers, there shouldn’t be any problems.

But caution is required.

Rayner’s victory

In August last year, I was given a forensic tour of Marks & Spencer’s Art Decor flagship store on Oxford Street. He had previously suggested that Britain’s favorite retailer was involved in an act of architectural vandalism. After seeing the site, with its layers of industrial archeology and leaking storage rooms, it was obvious that it was no longer fit for purpose. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner deserves praise for giving the green light to a reconstruction project delayed three years. M&S’s next task is to find a new location for a food hall and its fashion, when one of its highest-turnover establishments is dismantled.