Speeches by Crichton.

“Catherine, that makes it sound as if we will never have a nuclear district heating system or a nuclear steel plant, or anything like that.”

“Rebecca and Catherine, as well as clean energy, we will need clean heat for industrial purposes. One of the applications of these small reactors might be to place them next to where we produce steel, pink hydrogen or whatever. Should EN-7 take all that into account, also taking into account what Mike has just said abou…”

“Tom, let me ask you a political question. Is there any reason, apart from a political one, why new nuclear power stations could not be built in Torness and Hunterston?”

“I will move on to the “where” question. The Nuclear Industry Association has said that the Government should look at other sites beyond EN-6 and EN-7. Surely we are just going to build these things where nuclear plants already exist.”

“Tom, is the political will there to build them—globally and domestically?”

“I welcome the Secretary of State and her friendly-faced team to their posts. I also welcome the millions going into Project Gigabit. However, that money is finding its way into Openreach’s coffers but not to the end of the road in the Western Isles. I have many constituents, including two in my own village of Swordale,…”

“1. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to reduce digital exclusion in Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. He is Labour’s south by south-west to my north by north-west. It is good to have our communities connected to a Government who make change for rural areas and coastal communities. My constituency has much in common with his; it faces the same challenges of conn…”

“Yes, and Miatta as well. So I just want to ask each one of you to give your top recommendation on how we change that story and how we change that message.”

“These are retirees, I am guessing.”

“Stephanie, a couple of questions. How do you make citizens’ assemblies representative? I am guessing that the people who engage with the climate debate are usually people, like you said, who have high support for renewables, “I am not against renewables, but—” and then you get the engaged people who are not against ren…”

“Or people who will use it have another political agenda, a party political agenda perhaps, who will use renewables as a lightning rod to build opposition against the current Government.”

“Thank you all for your very lucid evidence.”

“Are they assemblies or focus groups? What you are describing is the way you would select a focus group, almost.”

“Interesting, because in polarised debates like referenda or Brexit, you found politics coming into it. Are people stuffing these citizens’ assemblies with people who represent their point of view?”

“I want to respectfully disagree with Polly. I think we have heard some news today, and it is almost 6 pm so I can do a news summary, and you have told us that 3,000 or 4,000 people will have died this summer because of climate change. You have told us that the GDP will fall off a cliff by 2070 unless we act. You have t…”

“Interesting, because in polarised debates like referenda or Brexit, you found politics coming into it. Are people stuffing these citizens’ assemblies with people who represent their point of view?”

“Polly has a follow-up question, so does Polly want to go first.”

“Are they assemblies or focus groups? What you are describing is the way you would select a focus group, almost.”

“Thanks all for coming in. Time is short so I will keep my questions brief on community engagement and overcoming that opposition. As Polly alluded to, the opposition to renewables is a lightning rod for another kind of political position to the Government. You get these three themes of people being completely sceptical…”