The Liberal Democrats in Cumbria have selected Mark Christie to be their candidate for the Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner election which is set to take place on May 6th.
What is Burns Night? The 25th January marks the birthday of one of Scotland's important cultural icons, Robert Burns. Robert Burns was one of Scotland's national poets and was well known among experts around the world. Burns Night is celebrated by relatives and friends coming together to have a Burns Supper in honour of Robert Burns.
Medway Liberal Democrats are pleased to see that the infection rates within Medway have continued to drop since the start of the 3rd national lockdown. However, with over 380 deaths recorded in Medway since the 1st November there has to be questions raised the how the council has handled the communication during this crisis.
This afternoon, Cumbrian MP Tim Farron has written to the President of the COP26 climate conference, Alok Sharma, urging him to block plans for a new coal mine in Cumbria.
Over £4.7 million has been paid in grants to local businesses by Chelmsford City Council to help with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, since entering Tier 2 on 17 October 2020.
Lovely to speak with Barry on Saturday 23rd January on Warminster Community Radio and to have the opportunity to talk about a few of the wider aspects of #Covid19 in Wiltshire and across the UK. I know from my work with general practice across England that the logistics are not easy. We talked a bit about #LongCovid - if anyone is having difficulties recovering from Covid, please speak with your General practice surgery. NHS England have announced funding and clinics specifically aimed at Long Covid - for Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire - Wiltshire health and care will take the lead providing this. https://www.england.nhs.uk/.../long-covid-patients-to.../ Lovely afterwards to receive phone calls from Wiltshire residents with thanks for the information too
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!”
