Energy Bill

As other hon. Members have said, the debate has been well attended—on this side, at least. The important national topic before us today has been well debated, too. I want to congratulate my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on seizing the issue and making the decision on nuclear power that we must shortly decide on together. It cannot be simply left to wither on the vine, and a decision has to be reached. It was encouraging to hear the almost acceptance of the need for nuclear power, with some caveat that I could not quite follow, that came from the Tory Front-Bench spokesman earlier. I see that that spokesman, the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Alan Duncan), is in his place now. I could not quite grasp the point that he was trying to make about the storage of nuclear waste. Was his point about the cost, or do we need to make a decision on where it will be located—and start to drill the holes to put it in—before he will commit his party to support the Government's decision? The Government have decided, at least in principle, to embark—if the private sector can respond to the market—on a new generation of nuclear power stations. That is the bottom line, and the most important explicit decision in the Bill. I hope that the official Opposition will vote with the Government tonight and we will have a bipartisan approach. We shall see when the Division is called.