The Late Lunch Briefing

Starting today is a new daily column for the Poliblogs - the Late Lunch Briefing. It will be a short comment with a bit of speculation thrown in on the major political issues of the day. No doubt it will evolve over time, but here is the first in the series:

Nuclear Storm

Tomorrow the government publishes it's latest "white paper" in to the building of new nuclear power. There will be absolutely no surprises I am sure. All it will say is that the government backs the building of new nuclear power stations - and well it might. The only way Britain is going to be able to achieve any significant emissions reductions and also protect us from the growing aggressive behaviour from Russia is by giving the green light to nuclear power.

The hardline greens are opposed - as they are to most things. But they must not be pandered to again. Even if work started tomorrow, we still won't get these things on line by 2020. Time is something we do not have. I am sure we are set for yet another legal challenge, I just hope this time it is not taken seriously and does not take up too much time.

Also, when you read the more lazy reporting of this - the government won't be building these new plants. It will be down to the private sector, so it won't cost us anything and it will still be up to the private sector whether they are worth having. The government are merely providing the framework for nuclear power. I, for one, fully support them on this.

What a plonker

Peter Hain. What to say? You took £5k from a source you publically backed two years ago. It does smell a bit fishy to me. And that is only the tip of the iceberg! Why didn't he come clean about the donations when the scandal kicked off in the first place? His job must be hanging by a thread now.

However, if he goes it opens Pandora's box. Harman and Alexander would surely have to go too? Petty politics is the only thing saving Hain right now - but that may just be enough. This is not the last we have heard from the donations scandal by a long shot.