Change in Green Party stance on nuclear energy

Posted: 7th October 2026

which abandons the its blanket opposition to nuclear power. Party members
voted for a motion at the party’s conference which amended the party’s
policy so as to describe nuclear fission as a form of ‘low-carbon
electricity generation’. It also removed nuclear power from the list of
electricity generation sources that the Green Party would seek to ‘phase
out’. Instead, the party y it now only seeks to phase out fossil
fuels. The Green Party has long opposed nuclear power, instead favouring an
approach to decarbonisation which relies on a rapid and overwhelming shift
to renewable energy. The party’s previous policy stated “Other
industries can never be sustainable and must be phased out, for example,
the nuclear industry.”

 Left Foot Forward 4th Oct 2026

 https://leftfootforward.org/2026/10/green-party-abandons-opposition-to-nuclear-power/

Green party drops longstanding opposition to nuclear power. Party in
England and Wales ditches commitment to phase out nuclear in major shift in
its energy policy. Green party members have voted to end the party’s
opposition to nuclear power, dropping a commitment to phase out the
technology in a major shift in its energy policy. The motion, adopted at
conference, removes a “blanket opposition to nuclear fission” and
instead commits the Green party of England and Wales to assessing nuclear
projects alongside other low-carbon technologies. Its electricity
generation policy still prioritises offshore wind, onshore wind and rooftop
solar as the primary sources of electricity, but allows elected

representatives to support new nuclear reactors on a case-by-case basis.
The Green MP Carla Denyer said the decision recognised there was a role for
nuclear while the country moved towards an electricity system based
primarily on renewables. “This evolution of our policy does not commit
the party to backing new nuclear, but accepts this power source is here to
stay for now, while we transition to electricity generation based primarily
on renewable sources,” she said. Eugene McCarthy, a co-founder of Greens
for Nuclear and a supporter of the motion, said the urgency of the climate
crisis demanded a willingness to consider all available options. “We are
at the throw-the-kitchen-sink-at-it phase of the climate crisis where you
cannot be ruling anything out for things like Chernobyl happening in the
1980s,” he said. Prof Andrew Stirling, who has advised government on
nuclear power and energy policy, said the motion was “completely
irrational”. “Why would a party that pioneered concerns about nuclear
power that have been so broadly vindicated by history, choose now to shift
its position?” he said. “All authoritative sources agree that climate
action is much faster, affordable and impactful with combined renewables
and storage,” he added. “Why spend scarce resources on less effective
actions?” McCarthy said: “Renewables are cheaper and have much more
capacity, and you can roll them out much quicker. [But] there are issues
with baseload, which nuclear can help with.”

 Guardian 5th Oct 2026

 https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/05/green-party-nuclear-power-policy