It’s hard to believe that it was just a few years ago that we had to push a bill though Parliament (in the teeth of opposition) that saved British Energy from liquidation.

That could have ended 1,500 jobs at the companies national HQ here in Barnwood overnight and caused shockwaves to our local economy. Now that the company is stable, growing and taken over by EDF, Labour’s new planning laws have created new opportunities for these much valued and skilled jobs. 

Again it was in the teeth of opposition, but we now have powers to build large scale power plants without being beset by a decade of planning enquiries and appeals. The new Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) has built up the confidence of the nuclear and the renewable energy industry and leaves us locally in a strong position to become the hub for training and highly skilled jobs for the future.

With this in mind I was delighted to open the new skills facility at Gloucestershire College some weeks ago - it will assist the nuclear industry and with this in mind I also visited Horizon - the new joint venture between E-On and RWE which is set to create hundreds of new jobs in Gloucester. 

Labour’s new planning laws for large scale infrastructure makes it viable for Horizon to start work on a new power station in Oldbury in South Gloucestershire and Wilfur in Wales. Nuclear energy is a reliable low carbon alternative to fossil fuel power stations. The fact that we have a strong skills base here in Gloucester gives us the platform to be the Copeland of the South, a real area of specialist skills and jobs which can boost our economy.

So, as well as meeting with and assisting Horizon in its growth here, I’m also working with Prospect - the trade union that represents most workers in this industry. Prospect also feels a sense of optimism for the future of jobs in the area and wider region – although we must ensure nobody comes along and undoes Infrastructure Planning Commission, which is the key to growing these new Gloucester jobs.    

Parmjit Dhanda MP

Member of Parliament for Gloucester