Let's face it: nuclear power is hideously dear and far from ideal | Nils Pratley

The government should be backing renewables, not tying itself to an expensive nuclear future

That bill-payers got stuffed in the deal that brought the Hinkley Point C project into existence is beyond dispute these days. Even government ministers barely quibble with the National Audit Office's assessment that consumers will be paying through the nose for 35 years. Instead, the defence has tended to run along these lines: don't worry, we've triggered a "resurgence" in the nuclear industry in the UK and the next reactors will be relative bargains.

Life has not worked out as planned. The government stretched the limits of financial acceptability to try to persuade Hitachi to construct a 16bn plant at Wylfa in Anglesey but still couldn't get the Japanese firm to sign up. Nuclear still wasn't getting cheaper. No surprise there: the costs never seem to fall.