Southwark Lib Dem Councillor Calls for Emergency Response to Black Mould Crisis
Councillor Maria Linforth-Hall of St George’s ward wrote to the CEO of Southwark Council to request an emergency response to address black mould in homes.
18 Nov 2022
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
The Lib Dems’ Role in the repeal of Section 28 – 19 years on
This week marks 19 years since the repeal of Section 28 of the Local Government Act in England and Wales, a landmark date for...
LA
18 Nov 2022
Autumn Statement heralds more Austerity!
Yesterday's Tory Autumn Statement showed the country just how bad things are under a Tory Government and how things are only destined to get worse. In acknowledging the dire economic state the country is in the Tories have finally realised how bad the choice was to introduce Austerity and leave the EU and to try and go it alone. The Office for Budget Responsibility confirms the stark reality that living standards will fall over the next two years. The Resolution Foundation forecast that in real terms wages will not return to levels last seen in 2008 until 2027 which means 2 decades when living standards have not improved.
18 Nov 2022
Conservatives Cost of Chaos Budget continues to squeeze the incomes of West Worcestershire Residents
Responding to the Conservative Budget yesterday, PPC for West Worcestershire Dan Boatright said "The Conservative government are acting like teenagers after a massive house party. They've trashed the house, doors are hanging off the hinges, and windows are broken. And now they're trying to convince us they're the ones who can fix the mess. The fact is, we are picking up the costs of the Conservatives taking a wrecking ball to the economy. This isn't the result of just Putin. This is mismanagement of public finances caused by the disastrous Johnson administration's mishandling of the shocks of BREXIT and the pandemic. This has been made worse by Liz Truss' inept budget a few weeks ago which has led to even higher costs for government and ordinary borrowers alike. What we are looking at is £55 billion of tax hikes and cuts to services at the worst possible time. Liberal Democrats would create a real windfall tax that is tougher but fair. We would also create a Mortgage Protection Fund to help those who are th
DB
18 Nov 2022
Federal Party Press Releases
Squeezed middled pushed to the brink by Conservative's Cost of Chaos budget
In response to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's morning round following yesterday's Autumn Statement, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney said:
18 Nov 2022
Federal Party Press Releases
5 Hidden Horrors in the Autumn Statement
The Liberal Democrats have revealed five “hidden horrors” buried in the small print in the Autumn Statement, including a staggering £18bn of tax cuts for the banks while almost six million people are dragged into a higher rate of tax.
18 Nov 2022
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!”
