Cumbrian MP Trudy Harrison met with a minister this week to discuss opportunities for new nuclear. 

Mrs Harrison met Andrew Bowie the nuclear minister in parliament this week and explained that he also shared her views. 

She said on social media: "The Prime Minister’s ongoing ambition and determination to deliver 24GW of new nuclear is echoed by the Nuclear Minister, Andrew Bowie.

"I met him yesterday in Parliament to discuss Solway Community Power Company’s plans and to reinforce that nobody does nuclear better than West Cumbria.

"The well-established, world-leading skills we have place us in pole position and we’re edging closer to spades in the ground for Rolls-Royce SMR."

Last year representatives from Rolls-Royce SMR, the UK’s domestic nuclear energy champion, toured the land to the south of the Sellafield site with Trudy Harrison, Member of Parliament for Copeland.

The visit was part of work to identify opportunities for Small Modular Reactor (SMR) power plants, each capable of producing 470MW of electricity.

Trudy Harrison MP said at the time: "The tour has been another step in the right direction, towards bringing SMRs to Copeland, and I’d like to thank colleagues from Rolls-Royce SMR for the visit.

"I am committed to the roll-out of SMRs and nowhere stands a better chance of success in hosting the first reactors than Copeland, specifically land to the south of the Sellafield site.

"It is one of a handful of suitable sites, with supportive neighbours at Sellafield and a qualified, experienced workforce across our local supply chain. Additionally, no other council has as much planning experience, over many decades, as Copeland Borough Council and never have we needed UK energy security more than today."

Alastair Evans, Rolls-Royce SMR’s Director of Corporate and Government Affairs, spoke saying: "There are several reasons why building Rolls-Royce SMRs in West Cumbria – Britain’s nuclear heartland – makes sense. These include the ability to power the grid with affordable low-carbon electricity and feed energy intensive industrial processes, potentially including those at the nearby Sellafield site."