28 May 2019
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Lambeth turns yellow as Lib Dems capture one in three votes in Euro elections
Lambeth Liberal Democrats
28 May 2019
Liberal Democrats win best ever European Election Result
The Liberal Democrats have won their best ever European Election result in the party's history, winning 16 MEPs and taking second place in the national vote share.
28 May 2019
The Liberal Democrats are winning in Gloucester
The Liberal Democrats have won 16 seats across the UK in the European Parliamentary elections.
28 May 2019
Vince Cable is Standing Down as Liberal Democrat Leader
Able Cable As previously announced, Vince Cable is standing down as Liberal Democrat leader, ending his time on an unexpected high. Not only brilliant local election results but also - if the polls are right - with the Liberal Democrats outpolling the Conservatives in a national election for the first time since 1906 (insert joke about how that is before even Vince was born). Perhaps even also outpolling Labour.
28 May 2019
Safari Supper Saturday: 8th June 2019 at 7pm
You are warmly invited to Hasting and Rye Liberal Democrats' Safari Supper. And we have a reason to celebrate... in the words of Vince Cable "British liberals beat both the Conservatives and the Labour Party for the first time since the days of Lloyd George. We secured second place in a national election, our largest ever group of MEPs, and our best share of the vote in a decade."
28 May 2019
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!”
