Defending Technocracy? Communicating with the Public about Nuclear Energy: Historical Perspectives

This thesis examines the communication strategy of the UK nuclear industry between 1975 to 1990. By refocusing the histories of this long-standing and contentious industry, I change our understanding of how the publicly funded nuclear industry saw and negotiated with, the UK publics. It makes new arguments about how nuclear science was communicated in post-war Britain and explores the inner workings of one of the best-funded industrial science communication projects during the period.

The sixth report on nuclear power from the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution intensified opposition to nuclear power and pushed the industry to reimagine how it communicated with the public. I argue that this required the industry to not just present data that showed that nuclear power was safe but to actively demonstrate it. Using previously unexplored primary material, I show that while the focus of the industry’s efforts was at public inquiries, it was through demonstrations, lectures, and the development of visitor centres where the industry used new communication methods for making not just a scientific argument for nuclear power, but an emotional one as well.

Nevertheless, while the industry embarked on these new public relation ventures, it also maintained an extensive lobbying effort within the UK parliament, to ensure it maintained its legitimacy to exist. This lobbying effort spilt into its wider public relations effort as key industry figures such as Lord Walter Marshall and Sir John Hill created a hierarchy of communication, whereby decision-makers and influential people, such as parliamentarians and journalists were the focus of its communication strategy. While populations around nuclear sites also received additional attention in comparison to the wider public.

The conclusion of this thesis reflects on what this untold history means for how we understand how the UK government and public bodies communicate science and how we view the relationship between government, parliament, and industry.