A look at the UK’s $3.3B (£2.5B) program, STEP, and how his agenda could reshape delivery.
The Fusion Report it typically focuses largely on the on technical aspects of commercial fusion energy, rather than on the political side of it. While people in the US government talk about fusion energy policies, the actual impacts of even federal government policies are modest at best. In many other Western countries, the opposite is actually true.
Comparison: Starmer’s Fusion Energy Policy vs Andy Burnham
Andy Burnham and Keir Starmer share Labour’s overall commitment to clean energy and net zero, but differ more in emphasis and approach than in headline goals, and neither has a distinct, well‑developed public position on fusion specifically. Starmer’s energy rhetoric has centered on making the UK a “clean energy superpower”, whereas Burnham talks more about public control, re‑industrialization and delivery on the ground, which would shape how any future fusion program is funded and governed.
Under Starmer, Labour’s energy strategy has focused on accelerating renewables and nuclear within a nationally driven framework, underpinned by the Energy Independence Bill and the “clean power by 2030” pledge. This implies support for advanced nuclear technologies, within which fusion is usually grouped as a long‑term research priority rather than a near‑term power source, but Starmer has framed this largely in terms of climate targets and global leadership rather than industrial strategy. Burnham, by contrast, has signaled a more interventionist and decentralized energy model, arguing for greater public control over utilities such as energy and water and for a ten‑year mission of reindustrialization in sectors including energy. In practice, this approach could mean Burnham treating fusion primarily as a tool for regional manufacturing, jobs and public‑led infrastructure rather than just a climate technology, even though his publicly stated positions so far focus on ownership, North Sea drilling, and pricing rather than commercial fusion energy itself.
Does This Mean a Retrenchment of the UK’s Fusion Energy Goals?
First of all, let’s explore Keir Starmer’s achievements and goals in commercializing fusion energy. As Prime Minister, he co-created the Technology Prosperity Deal with US President Trump, which explicitly commits the UK and US to coordinate fusion energy research and development, including using artificial intelligence and harmonizing pro‑innovation policies to enable commercial fusion technologies. This kind of alignment on regulation, licensing approaches, and joint R&D funding creates a more predictable environment for private and public fusion projects to advance, even though it does not itself constitute a technical milestone. In a broader sense, this is the best that one can probably hope for from Trump’s administration: basically staying out of the way.
Domestically, Starmer’s broader nuclear and clean‑energy push has also indirectly supported fusion by framing it as part of a “golden age of nuclear” and a wider clean‑technology strategy aimed at industrial renewal and energy security. His government’s emphasis on large‑scale investment in advanced nuclear, skills (such as PhD programs and apprenticeships), and long‑term infrastructure makes it easier for flagship fusion programs like the UK’s Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) project to secure partners and funding in a more favorable policy climate. While Starmer has not personally led a specific fusion experiment or project, his role has been to embed fusion within a strategic framework of clean growth, technology cooperation with allies, and expanded nuclear investment that gives the sector political backing and clearer pathways to commercialization.
A Burnham government is not expected to retrench UK’s stated fusion energy commercialization goals, but rather change the way they are pursued by pushing them through a lens of devolution, public control, and industrial renewal. This would likely include (broadly) keep Labour’s existing clean‑energy and nuclear framework – within which fusion sits as a long‑term strategic technology – while “dragging” policy towards more interventionist, regionally driven delivery rather than a Whitehall‑centric model. His Manchester‑inspired “Manchesterism” agenda, with ideas such as a “No.10 North” (a ‘northern branch’ of 10 Downing Street, the UK Prime Minister’s residence), and a mission of reindustrializing left‑behind regions, suggests he would treat fusion mainly as part of a wider plan for good jobs, skills and manufacturing capacity in areas outside the South East, potentially reshaping where fusion facilities, supply chains and research clusters are located. And because Burnham is committed to greater public control over utilities like energy, but within existing fiscal rules, his impact on fusion is likely to be about governance and ownership structures – for example stronger public or community stakes in fusion projects and more explicit links to regional development – rather than changing the headline national targets for fusion deployment themselves.
Burnham As PM: A More Localized Flavor for The Fusion Industry
it is important to remember that the UK has today one of the largest publicly-funded programs for fusion energy commercialization, with an investment of $3.3B US (£2.5B UK) between 2026 and 2030. This includes investments in:
- STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production): UK Fusion Energy Ltd is allocating £1.3 billion to design and build a prototype power plant at the former West Burton coal power station in Nottinghamshire, with the aim to demonstrate net electricity generation by the 2040s.
- National Fusion Laboratory: Situated at the Culham Campus in Oxfordshire, this is a massive hub for R&D infrastructure, robotics, materials testing, and tritium handling.
- AI & Digital Twins: As part of a £125 million AI growth zone at Culham, the UK launched ‘Sunrise’, a dedicated 1.4MW AI supercomputer. It is expected to deliver up to 6.76 exaflops of AI modeling to fast-track fusion reactor designs.
- Fusion Jobs & Supply Chain: The program dedicates £50 million strictly to skills training, aiming to prepare 2,000 experts for the fusion industry by 2030.
While it is too early to say what the changes specifically might be, it is not unforeseeable that they could include moving some of these programs further away from southern England (though the STEP program is located fairly close to Manchester in central England). Keep an eye on The Fusion Report for more UK fusion energy news as it develops.
