Boris Johnson hit out at Labour’s “abject failure” to invest in nuclear power and said surging bills would be less severe if they had acted.
The outgoing Prime Minister criticised Tony Blair, saying “thanks a bunch, Tony” for his government doing “absolutely nothing” to invest in the UK’s energy supplies.
He also blamed Nick Clegg, the Tories’ former coalition partner, for saying it was not worth developing new nuclear reactors because they would not come on stream for a decade.
“For 13 years, the previous Labour government did absolutely nothing to develop this country’s nuclear industry,” said Mr Johnson.
“They said it didn’t make economic sense. I think they even said that in their manifesto. Thanks a bunch, Tony, and thanks a bunch, Gordon [Brown].
“Tell that to the British business and industries that are short of affordable electricity, tell that to the families struggling with the cost of heat and light this winter.”
Speaking at the Sizewell B power plant in Suffolk on the final stop on his farewell tour of the UK, Mr Johnson pledged a massive expansion of nuclear power to enhance Britain’s energy security as his final act before leaving Downing Street.
He confirmed that the Government has pledged £700 million for a deal to buy a significant stake, thought to be around 20 per cent, of a new nuclear power station planned for Sizewell, in Suffolk.
It would create enough energy to power six million homes – a fifth of all homes in the UK.
Mr Johnson denounced the “paralysis” in nuclear energy in Britain since 1995, when the last reactor was completed, asking “how many slices of bread could we toast with the additional nuclear power we have created?” if more had been built since.
He said that if Hinkley Point C were running now it would be cutting fuel bills by £3 billion, adding that the country had to “look ahead” and “beware of the false economy”.
“If you have an old kettle that takes ages to boil, it may cost you £20 to replace it. But if you get a new one you will save £10 pounds a year every year on your electricity bill," he added.
Mr Johnson has spent this week on a farewell tour, taking part in a police raid in south London and launching a new submarine in Barrow-on-Furness.
Thursday’s speech was a final act demonstrating that he thinks energy security is a key part of his legacy.
He said it made his “blood start to boil” when he thought about how the country that split the atom now had so few nuclear reactors, saying: “Have we lost the gumption and dynamism of our parents and grandparents?”
He urged his successor to “go nuclear”, saying that “we need to pull our national finger out” and get on with the Sizewell C deal.
Liz Truss, the front-runner to succeed him, is understood to be a big supporter of nuclear power, with Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary – tipped to be her chancellor – also championing it.
Negotiations with French state-owned EDF, the developer of Sizewell C, are understood to be under way. EDF wants to take a further 20 per cent stake as part of an agreement to remove a Chinese state-backed energy group from the project.
Mr Johnson also warned his successor that fracking is not a “panacea”, saying he was “dubious” that it would be enough to solve the energy crisis.
“On fracking, I am not intellectually, morally opposed to this at all. I think that if we could frack effectively and cheaply in this country, that would be a positive and beneficial thing,” he said.
“I have to say, I am just slightly dubious it will prove to be a panacea. I would much rather that we focused on the things where we are brilliant and where the environmental damage is really minimal, like offshore wind.”
He pledged to give his “full and unqualified support” to his successor but added that only time will tell” whether or not he would be the kind of former prime minster who caused trouble from the back benches.
Mr Johnson said that there would be “more cash to come” in the months ahead to help families with soaring bills, promising that households would receive “substantial sums” to help with cost of living crisis this winter.
“Of course, families up and down this country are going to face a very tough winter, and we just have to accept that,” he said. “What I would say to people is that the Government really really understands the difficulties that you are facing. We totally get it.”
On Thursday, Nadhim Zahawi, the chancellor, met Janet Yellen, the US treasury secretary, on a trip to discuss joint solutions to the cost of living crisis. They agreed to push ahead with plans to put a cap on the price of Russian oil, meaning they would agree not to pay over a set amount to Russia for their oil, helping fight inflation.
