Minister to take on nuclear critics

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Pushing ahead with a new generation of the controversial energy sources is essential if Britain is not only to survive the present economic crisis but emerge "stronger and fitter", he will declare.

Warning that the UK risks being 80% reliant on imported gas within 12 years otherwise, he will reject the objections of environmentalists and opposition parties in his speech to the Labour Party conference.

"Our ambition must be more than weathering the economic storm unsettling the world; we must make the changes now so we emerge stronger and fitter," he will tell delegates in a combative speech in Manchester.

"That means dealing with one of the most important threats to our long-term competitiveness, indeed our sovereignty as a nation, and that is the new international battle for energy security.

"It means a renaissance in nuclear power: low carbon; reliable; secure.

"And because energy security is a first thought, not an afterthought, I will not turn my back on another critical source of energy security for the UK: coal.

In an attack on opposition parties, he will say: "Emerging fitter and stronger from this economic test means being prepared to take the difficult choices, not pandering to fashionable causes.

"Tories say no to new coal and send mixed messages on nuclear; Lib Dems say to no to new coal and nuclear.

"No coal plus no nuclear equals no lights. We need to make sure that the choice for the country in the months ahead is equally simple: leadership for the long-term challenges facing Britain with Labour, or posturing and economic risk under the Conservatives."