Lib Dems step up attack on Universal Credit
Liberal Democrats have played their part in making sure that the inadequacies of Universal Credit have been highlighted.
CL
23 Oct 2017
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Building a social media presence from scratch
Handy advice from Campaigns & Elections about what to do if you're starting from scratch (or nearly from scratch) at building up your social media use for political ends:
MPAWTWAE
23 Oct 2017
Leaving the EU without a trade deal could cost Britain £430 BILLION over five years, warns Vince Cable
The Liberal Democrat leader added that even a soft Brexit could cost £235bn
GO
23 Oct 2017
Govt accused of 'hiding bad news' after Liam Fox AGAIN rejects Brexit impact studies call
A top Labour MP today accused the Government of "hiding bad news" after Liam Fox admitted publishing a set of controversial Brexit impact assessments could scupper negotiations for Britain.
EC
23 Oct 2017
They need us more than we need them – Yeah right
Apart from Britain, there are 27 states in the European Union. Most of them have very little trade with us: we import o...
23 Oct 2017
Jonathan Fryer addresses CLD at Annual General Meeting
Liam Fox and other Brexiteers in the UK's current Conservative government are fond of saying that when we are "free" from the European Union, we will be able to enter into a great new dawn of trading partnerships with other big players around the world, not least China. Actually, it was David Cameron and the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, who really championed the idea of a bright future hand-in-hand with the People's Republic, though they never imagined that would be something totally separate from EU-China trading relations. Theresa May, interestingly, has been a little more cautious in her embrace of President Xi Jinping, who has been expertly consolidating his authority at the Chinese People's Congress this week. But despite the bluff reassurances of Liam Fox, David Davis and Boris Johnson, forging an advantageous new trading relationship with China is unlikely to be straightforward, for a number of reasons. First, until Britain formally leaves the EU - in principle on 29 March 2019 - i
JF
23 Oct 2017
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!”
