Conference, I am delighted to be able to join those youthful voices speaking out against Amendment One - Kevin Lang, Fred Mackintosh… Liz Dick.

It’s not an essentially bad amendment. It’s not malicious or outrageous, it’s grammatically correct. So why not pass it?

Well, as the Minister pointed out in his opening speech it subtly changes the whole message of the motion as written and it challenges our party’s long-standing opposition to nuclear Power. It confuses the issue. Muddies the heavy water if you will.

So the can of worms has been opened and we have to ask ourselves this question again. Why do we as Liberal Democrats oppose nuclear power?

Well, if it wasn’t enough that it’s expensive, inefficient, not as CO2 neutral as they might have you think, but it is also dependent on a finite resource, uranium which has to be sourced from some of the least politically stable areas of the world.

But most importantly - we oppose nuclear power because of the radioactive waste which the industry creates and which this motion addresses directly.

Radioactive waste must be this planet’s most potent and toxic pollutant. It’s a million year problem which will not just go away.

If we oppose nuclear power of all of these reasons then we cannot condone their continued operation for “just a few more years” while we sort ourselves out. We oppose nuclear power and must be consistent in this opposition.

I appreciate the amendment’s concern about the dual problems of climate change and our energy future, but caving in to the nuclear lobby’s claims that only they can stop the lights going out is most certainly not the answer.

If we can meet Ross Finnie’s ambitious target of 40% of our electricity by renewable sources come 2020 then we will not miss Scotland’s nuclear industry when they are finally got rid of.

As Liberals we have a tough choice to make – and yes, Alistair Darling – we can make tough choices. Do we give ourselves a nuclear safety-net with all the accompanying problems and radioactive waste. Or do we grasp the challenge to develop a cleaner, more efficient future.

Conference. New nuclear power or expanding existing nuclear cannot be an option for us. Our goal must be 100% sustainable, renewable energy. The amendment leaves the door open to new nuclear, but this door should be shut, it should be locked, decommissioned and buried in concrete. I would urge you to reject the amendment and rise to the challenge of making Scotland clean, green and nuclear-free.