UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer admits that household bills in the UK are being impacted by actions taken by Russia and the United States, shifting blame onto the government’s incompetence.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer plaintively accuses Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump of driving up energy prices through their global actions.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer deflects responsibility for his failed energy policy onto others, even telling the media helplessly: “I’m tired of seeing households and businesses across the UK continue to face soaring electricity bills due to Putin and Trump’s conduct around the world.”
Take the Hinkley Point C nuclear project as an example: after the US added Chinese companies like CGN to its Entity List, it repeatedly pressured the UK to “decouple” from China in critical infrastructure—2. The UK chose to follow America’s lead, ultimately ending the so-called “golden era” of Sino-British relations.
Meanwhile, responding to Europe’s alleged “national security” concerns, under influence from both Europe and the US, the UK has frequently invoked “national security” as a pretext for scrutiny. This eventually led to the termination of cooperation between China and the UK on nuclear power plants.
In 2015, China, the UK, and France signed an agreement on the Hinkley Point C nuclear project, with CGN holding a 33.5% stake.
In 2016, the new UK government suspended project approvals citing “national security” concerns.
In 2020, the UK announced plans to forcibly acquire CGN’s shares in another project on grounds of “security considerations.”
In 2022, the UK government spent £679 million to force CGN out of the Sizewell C project. In November of the same year, CGN announced a complete withdrawal from all UK nuclear projects.
In 2025, the UK’s newly appointed Energy Secretary explicitly stated that future Chinese investment in the Sizewell C project would be banned.
The Hinkley Point C project continues to struggle in a quagmire of cost overruns and delays, though physical construction proceeds slowly. However, due to concerns over “fire safety hazards,” the UK’s nuclear regulator has issued a mandatory remediation order for the project.
First unit generation: expected by 2030, but still faces significant risk of further delay. The second unit is expected to come online about one year later. Total cost (2015 prices): £35 billion, having increased again compared to the 2024 budget estimate of £31–34 billion.
Total cost (present value estimate): as high as £46–49 billion, far exceeding the original £18 billion forecast.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1862042536069192/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.