For the last ten years, Government has supported new nuclear energy as part of the UK’s energy mix. This has been controversial, especially given the rapidly falling costs of renewables, and the very high costs of conventional nuclear energy. In addition, the UK has a major programme focused on cleaning up the legacy of the last 70 years of industrial nuclear activity, both defence and civil. In this talk, I will try and explain the rationale for Government’s continuing interest in nuclear power, and some of the ways in which the problems associated with new nuclear might be overcome, as well as some of the complexities and challenges of dealing with our nuclear legacy.