Tyneside buses emissions investment still falls short of what's needed say Lib Dems
A £3.3m project to improve air quality by cutting harmful emissions from buses has been given a cautious welcome by Newcastle's Liberal Democrats.
8 Feb 2018
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Our schools are crying for help
"Every teacher, other member of staff, School Governor, parent and pupil knows that there is a crisis in the funding of their local school in West Sussex", says Robert Eggleston, Chair of Burgess Hill Liberal Democrats. "In recent meetings I have had with the head teachers of Burgess Hill schools it is clear how the pressure on school budgets is affecting the delivery of services and morale.
8 Feb 2018
Layla Moran introduces a Bill to repeal the Vagrancy Act.
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8 Feb 2018
MPs fail to stand up for Surrey in crucial funding vote
Liberal Democrat county councillors have criticised Surrey's 11 Conservative MPs after they all voted in favour of the Local Government Finance Settlement in the House of Commons on Wednesday 7th February. The Settlement sets out the level of funding from central government to local authorities for the next financial year and has been heavily criticised for not providing adequate funding to councils to provide essential services. All 9 Liberal Democrat county councillors in Surrey had written to the 11 MPs asking them to vote against the Settlement but no Conservative MP in Surrey spoke in the debate and all voted in favour.
8 Feb 2018
Brexit starts to look very, very scary
Leave voting areas of the UK are amongst the worst hit in the Government's own analysis of the impact of Brexit.
TV
8 Feb 2018
Floella Benjamin on trouser suits, pioneering pregnancy at work and fighting for gender and race equality
As recently as 1981, Floella Benjamin was a trailblazer at the BBC. It wasn't the done thing to be pregnant and be a tv presenter. She did it. In a fascinating speech in the Lords on Monday, she talked about her life and various careers and campaigns. I actually can't believe where she started off her working life. Enjoy.
TV
8 Feb 2018
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!”
