With the start of the Easter holidays and the next step in the Government's Coronavirus roadmap allowing outdoor gathering of either six people or two households, the Council is reminding local residents to enjoy their parks responsibly.
I was amused that Conservative Test Valley announced with a fanfare of trumpets and drums rolling that they would introduce doorstep glass collection and a whole host of other green measures at some time in the future. This was not through a sudden greening at the borough council. No this was due to the government's environment bill which will make it mandatory for councils to do so. Currently we languish with one of the worst recycling rates in the UK at about 37%. Good councils recycle about twice what we do. When the council boasts that it sends little to landfill, the reason is simply that we incinerate so much. Doorstep glass collection is a particular bugbear of mine and many of our fellow residents. Yet Lib Dem Eastleigh has been doing it for years and so has Conservative Basingstoke. It appears that what is good enough for Basingstoke and Eastleigh is not good enough for us in Test Valley.
We wish to extend to our members, supporters and wider community across the city of Leicester a Happy Holi to those who are observing the festival.
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It's Time to Unmask Violence Against Women for what it really is - Violence by Men 99% of gender-based violence is committed by men. So why are they often absent from the conversation? Sarah Everard's murder has spotlighted the prevalence of violence by men - and women have had enough. By Wera Hobhouse, Mar 23, 2021 5:03
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!”
