John Fingleton's Nuclear Revolution, Sacred Cows, and Why Shabana Mahmood is All Talk

Dec 5, 2025

Robert Boswell, a representative from Last Energy and an advocate for small modular reactors, shares insights on nuclear regulation and industry barriers in the UK. He celebrates John Fingleton’s review aimed at slashing red tape and discusses the paradox of risk tolerability in nuclear safety, highlighting excessive regulations that hinder innovation. The hosts also dive into provocative topics like the fate of the greenbelt and Zone 1 housing, while engaging in a spirited debate about public institutions and potential economic reforms.

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INSIGHT

Regulation Prioritises Process Over Delivery

John Fingleton's nuclear review exposes regulation as process-first, not delivery-focused.
The report links excessive regulation to high nuclear costs and stalled infrastructure progress.

INSIGHT

Redundant Requirements Inflate Costs

Multiple overlapping regulators and onerous mitigation (e.g., fish-disco) massively inflate nuclear project costs.
Centralised funds and single delivery bodies could cut needless site-specific obligations and speed delivery.

ANECDOTE

Pub Celebration For A Regulatory Shakeup

Robert Boswell celebrated the report with industry colleagues at a pub, reflecting genuine excitement.
He said previously quiet industry voices now feel free to speak publicly about long-standing problems.

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Tom and Calum dissect John Fingleton’s damning nuclear regulatory review, play Sacred Cow with the greenbelt and Zone 1 council housing, and explain why Shabana Mahmood’s “tough on immigration” reforms are actually quite soft. Plus: nuclear policy specialist Robert Boswall drops by fresh from the pub to explain why the ONR reports to the Department for Work and Pensions, and why Birmingham City FC’s new chimney-adorned stadium might be the most important piece of architecture in Britain.

Tom and Calum discuss:

* The Fingleton nuclear report: Santa came down the chimney with a huge sack of regulation-cutting proposals—£700 million fish discos, eight different regulators for defence projects, and the revelation that civil servants defer to regulators who defer back to civil servants in an endless loop of inaction,

* Robert Boswall’s pub celebration: Fresh from carousing over the nuclear report, nuclear policy specialist Robert Boswall explains why tolerability of risk matters, why the ONR bizarrely reports to the Department for Work and Pensions, and why his favourite regulation to abolish is “regulatory justification”—a random EU inheritance that costs millions and achieves nothing,

* Sacred Cow carnage: Calum slaughters the greenbelt (”most of it is disused petrol stations”), executes Zone 1 council housing without hesitation, but spares Christmas and national parks. Tom meanwhile shows his kindness towards farm animals,

* Shabana Mahmood’s immigration mirage: Blue Labour are delighted by her “tough” reforms—20-year wait for asylum seekers!—but there are carve-outs everywhere (jewellery confiscation exempt if “sentimental”), new safe and legal routes opened up, and asylum seekers can choose the 10-year track instead. Chris Bayliss in The Critic calls it out as vibes over substance,

* Elite defectors and vibe shifts: Tom argues that Westminster consensus on immigration is cracking and elite opinion is shifting against mass migration. Calum counters that this means nothing if Reform sweeps in on northern Red Wall seats while London dinner parties stay the same,

* Birmingham City FC’s chimney stadium: Thomas Heatherwick’s design with 12 enormous brick chimneys evoking Birmingham’s industrial past. Tom loves it as history finding echo in architecture. Calum worries it’s pastiche—until Tom destroys him with facts and logic about Houses of Parliament crenellations.