With the release of the 4,000 word piece by Liz Truss in the Sunday Telegraph, the Liberal Democrats are calling for the removal of her £115k a year ex-PM dividend funded by the taxpayer.
It is six months on from when Elstow Solar Farm first went operational, and it is already far exceeding expectations in terms of energy and income generation. The state-of-the-art solar farm has generated 1,926Mwh of energy, more than originally predicted. This has led to over £127,000 more income for the council than was originally estimated.
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today called on the Scottish Government to back Scottish Liberal Democrat plans to boost community justice following new figures which revealed that the number of custody and community based throughcare cases is the second lowest it has been in the last ten years.
Bedford Borough Council have announced further details of a major project improving and developing links alongside the Great Ouse from Priory Country Park to Kempston Outdoor Centre.
On Saturday 11 March 2023, the Rugby Town East Safer Neighbourhood team will be at the GEC Rec Car Park on Hillmorton Road to offer advice and support to the public around bike safety and security.
The number of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) on the streets has fallen dramatically by 28% since 2015.
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!”
