Nuclear co-operation with France

One of the interesting things which came out of this week's visit by the French President to Britain was the possibility of greater nuclear co-operation between Britain and France.

I am broadly in favour of this, as it has potential to benefit both countries, but it could be a double-edged sword for Copeland and West Cumbria. So far as the outlook for nuclear jobs in West Cumbria is concerned, greater co-operation presents both opportunities and threats. We need to be ready to exploit the former and be ready to position ourselves so as to avoid the latter.

I specifically do not want to suggest that we should take a kind of Anti-Globalisation luddite line that that international co-operation should be resisted because it means exporting jobs.

However, to make sure that the benefits of job creation are shared, we need a strategy which identifies the areas of work where we have a comparative advantage and make sure we get those areas of work.

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