Labour candidate for Pendle and Clitheroe Jonathan Hinder says skills and expertise in East Lancashire key to unlocking Britain’s ‘low carbon’ future at Roll-Royce talk

Jonathan Hinder has been visiting a number of businesses across the region since being selected as Labour’s candidate for the new constituency.

In March, Hinder visited Rolls-Royce’s Bankfield site, learning more about the site’s history and the commitment to emerging green technologies and small modular reactors.

He said: “I have always been a passionate advocate for the region’s skills and expertise, but having the opportunity to see precision complex work being done up close has given me an enhanced focus and perspective.

“The UK is a global leader in nuclear energy technology and organisations like Rolls Royce, with a committed local talent pool, are part of the reason why. We will see major new industries emerge from incredible technologies like small modular reactors and I’m excited by the potential this region has to be at the absolute forefront of a civil nuclear revolution.”

Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, gave the keynote address at this year’s annual Sydney Silverman memorial lecture, at Rolls-Royce Leisure in Barnoldswick.

The annual lecture is held to celebrate the life of Sydney Silverman, the MP for Nelson and Colne from 1935-68. A passionate advocate for the abolition of the death penalty, he dedicated decades to seeing its removal.

Opening his speech with an acknowledgement of Silverman’s role in the establishment of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Greatrex reasoned that in 2024 Silverman would be an advocate for civil nuclear power as a low-carbon energy source.

Mr Greatrex said: "It was a pleasure to be in Barnoldswick and an honour to give a lecture in the memory of a much revered and well-respected former local Member of Parliament – somebody who I am confident would have been at the forefront of the political imperative of

tackling climate change.

“Nuclear power will be an integral part of our future decarbonised power mix in the UK. Tackling climate change and ensuring energy security are two sides of the same coin, and there is huge potential here to build on engineering and manufacturing capability to be part of the supply chain for a new generation of small modular reactors, such as the Rolls-Royce UK design.”