I served my apprenticeship with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and rose over the years to become a Senior Design Draftsman. I saw it all from the inside and can testify that it wasn't Safety, Practicality or Cost that destroyed the UK nuclear industry. It was, as usual, politics.
Rather than have British built power stations on our own soil generating energy, we decided to import nuclear generated power from Europe. We have never looked forward again since.