Has our government just signed up to the most disastrous (on many levels - but especially financially) deal in the country's history out of sheer panic? Methinks so.

I love the idea of slagging off Miliband's price freeze proposals as 'socialist' – and then handing over a chunk of the nation's energy generation to a communist country.

France?

I thought we were getting lots of Chinese investment.

The lead is from EDF, who are of course 85% owned by the French government. 30-40% will be owned by Chinese companies. Who are of course owned by the Chinese government. A further 10% will be owned by French firm Areva. Which of course is owned by the French government.



The Energy Institute have calculated that the deal amounts to a £1bn subsidy to these companies.



So we won't subsidise our own companies, we won't allow a successful rail franchise to remain in public hands, we won't subsidise Royal Mail. We'll cut the size of the public sector in the UK. But we'll subsidise the French and Chinese public sector companies?

maybe because there is no alternative to meet future energy demands in this country? (other than covering every square inch of land in wind turbines).

Small scale generation is the way to go. The best way forward would be for the energy companies to pay rent in the form of free power to anyone willing to have them install solar panels on their house. The energy company would then sell the excess power to other users.

Or we could simply issue treasury bonds to raise sufficient capital to build and run the sodding thing ourselves

Any good digs down that way when I pitch up for that power station job?

Don't some companies already do this?

What with public ownership of utilities being so horrendously inefficient etc etc.



Hypocrisy of the highest order from our beloved government.

Good to see the Energy Secretary yesterday proclaiming this major infrastructure project as being built "at no cost to the British taxpayer". Presumably the whacking great subsidy and extortionate fixed price per unit is being funded by a whip round of the Cabinet?