Our literature for Surrey County Council Elections 2021 and Staines South By-election 2021
Staines South By-election Rob Millist Introduction Leaflet
17 Apr 2021
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Vote for Mark Tomes
Mark tomes: Lives in Church Hill, Volunteers in Church Hill, Passionate about Church Hill This election you have a real choice: stick with the same old politics where your Labour and Conservative Councillors take your vote for granted or vote for Church Hill resident and Liberal Democreat, Mark Tomes, who works hard for you all year round.
17 Apr 2021
Week of Action - Working to keep you safe and support local businesses
During this first week of shops, pubs, restaurants and hairdressers reopening, Bedford Borough Council has been working to support local businesses and keep our communities safe.
17 Apr 2021
Local Government
Save the Low Port Centre
Unless we take action now, Linlithgow’s much loved Low Port Centre will soon be a thing of the past. West Lothian Council is due...
16 Apr 2021
Thin Blue Line stretched far too thinly in Suffolk
James Sandbach says: When our current Conservative Police Commissioner was elected each town in Suffolk had its own police station and a frontline reception to deal with public enquiries. What a difference one person's tenure can make: Only three police stations with public access remain. £30m in cuts Over 100 PCSO posts lost.
16 Apr 2021
MP re-elected Chair of All Party Parliamentary Group on Hill Farming
South Lakes MP Tim Farron has been re-elected Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Hill Farming at the group's Annual General Meeting.
16 Apr 2021
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath and spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero, called on the government to provide incentives for energy providers to develop solar power in the UK.
Mrs Hobhouse slammed the government for falling behind on meeting the UK’s renewable targets for solar energy capacity. The government plans to deploy 70 GW of solar power across the country by 2035. However, as of 2022, the UK had only installed 14.3 GW of solar pv.
Following a visit to a rooftop solar system installed by Bath & West Community Energy (BWCE) at Beechen Cliff School last year, Wera Hobhouse is keen to encourage the development of similar solar projects across Bath. The solar system is predicted to significantly cut the school’s fuel costs and reduce their carbon emissions by 52 tonnes a year.
In the House of Commons on the 27th February, the Bath MP noted that the UK is lagging behind the rest of the world in renewable energy investment, she urged the government to offer incentives to energy providers to improve solar capacity.
However, Andrew Bowie, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Energy Security and Net Zero, ignored Hobhouse’s proposals, failing to describe the ways in which the government could incentivise solar energy. Instead, Bowie said that the government’s Solar Taskforce would publish recommendations for solar power and reiterated the government’s target to deploy 70 GW by 2035.
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath and spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero, commented:
“The Conservatives are falling dangerously behind on meeting our targets for renewable energy production. It is no good the government setting an ambitious 70 GW solar target if they are nowhere near reaching it.
“It is clear that they have no plan to get us back on track to reach Net Zero. Evidently, they are more than happy to dismiss perfectly good proposals like incentivising solar power. That is why I am so proud that Bath is home to many community energy projects like the solar system at Beechen Cliff School, so that we can lead the way in renewables.”
“It is not just our climate targets harmed by the Conservatives’ delay. Families in Bath and across the country are struggling to pay soaring energy bills which investment in renewables could curb. That is why we Liberal Democrats would build significantly more renewable energy, aiming to generate 80% of our electricity from renewables by 2030.”
Peter Capener, Managing Director of Bath & West Community Energy said:
“Our work with schools is really demonstrating the value of community energy in both addressing the climate crisis and reducing fuel bills. Rooftop solar installed last year has already saved local schools a combined total of £134,209 and has reduced carbon emissions by 224.3 tonnes, which is equivalent to 12,173 journeys from Bath to Edinburgh by train!”
