Rochdale Lib Dems take the Greenbelt pledge
Since they were announced in 2016 - Rochdale, Heywood & Middleton Liberal Democrats have challenged and opposed local plans to...
RLD
22 Apr 2021
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Chelmsford City Council creates "online High Street" with Click It Local
At Chelmsford City Council, the Lib Dem leadership have been keen to help local business recover from the pandemic. So they have worked with the "Click It Local" team to create a local alternative to those global shopping websites.
21 Apr 2021
Climate emergency: Government must set a roadmap to net zero with specific Minister in charge
Liberal Democrats are calling for a new local and national government strategy to achieve net zero carbon emissions in the UK
21 Apr 2021
Reconnecting, Reviving and Regenerating Communities
In just over two weeks all voters in Suffolk will get to elect 75 County Councillors to run Suffolk Council until 2025 and a new Police & Crime Commissioner. In the next few days registered voters will receive their postal vote packs for these forthcoming elections The County Council takes over 75% of the council tax you pay. These elections are important and will impact every household in Suffolk. Some of the County's responsibilities include road and pavement maintenance, highways safety, street lighting, education, young and elderly people in care and the fire and rescue service. It is also the flood relief authority. The new Police & Crime Commissioner will help to set the priorities and strategy for policing and tackling crime.
21 Apr 2021
Vote Lib Dem on May 6th
Fairer, greener, healthier: let's make a better Bushey Your Bushey Lib Dem county council candidates on May 6th are:
21 Apr 2021
Major Changes in New East Midlands Railway Timetable from May
A new East Midlands Railway Timetable from May has been published, and it includes a number of major changes to the services offered over the last three years. These include the long-awaited return of peak-time services to London and the end of rail replacement buses between Wellingborough and Bedford, which have been in place in the morning peak time since 2018. However, the new services also confirm the loss of almost all direct services between Bedford and destinations north of Kettering, with services on the new electric line terminating at Corby.
21 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!”
