Louise Haigh MP for Sheffield Heeley has today (Tuesday 10^th June) called on the government to ensure that Britain and South Yorkshire benefits from the development of the next generation of nuclear power plants.

It was announced today that Rolls Royce SMR has been named as the preferred bidder in the Great British Nuclear Small Modular Reactor competition, meaning that nuclear power stations will be designed and built by a British company – Rolls Royce.

Ms. Haigh warmly welcomed this news and highlighted the significant work that Rolls Royce is already doing at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in South Yorkshire. Rolls Royce has detailed that 70% of the SMR and its supply chain could be built and produced in the UK. Louise called on the government to ensure that Rolls Royce were held to account for that and to ensure that this announcement would create jobs and investment across the UK.

Louise Haigh MP for Sheffield Heeley, said:

“I’m delighted that Rolls Royce’s bid has been selected to develop this next generation technology.

“Sheffield has a long and proud history of excellence in manufacturing, and our city is home to some of the best nuclear engineering expertise in the world. We have the skills, the knowledge, and the ambition, and now with this announcement we could have the investment.

“It’s essential that the government hold Rolls Royce to their commitment and ensure that jobs and investment are spread across the UK.”