Cllr Steven Lambert, Liberal Democrat Leader on Buckinghamshire Council, has accused Rob Butler, Aylesbury's Conservative MP, for abandoning their election commitment on international development spending by voting to maintain the UK's cut on foreign aid spending, which will endanger the lives of people around the globe.
Following the Prime Minister's briefing this week (Monday 12 July) the rules on what we can and can't do will be changing from Monday 19 July.
The Prime Minister has announced that Covid-19 restrictions are set to end in England and life will soon return close to normal, with people's judgement being key in learning to live with the virus.
It is disappointing that the Conservative MP for #SouthWestWiltshire voted against the world's poorest yesterday, and broke a Conservative manifesto promise to their constituents as they did so. Even more so when considering in 2019 they were speaking about how U.K. aid helps others overseas … how quickly he forgets. The negotiated conditions in place to reinstate the 0.7% aid commitment have been met once in the past 20 years so it is highly unlikely despite Tory chatter that these will be reinstated quickly if ever. UK aid to provide education and jobs to thousands of Syrian refugees - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Dear Andrew,
Runnymede Liberal Democrats believe that one way to address the national housing crisis is to encourage dwellings that have been empty for two or more years back into occupation. For this reason we are bringing forward a motion to Runnymede Borough Council on the 15th July 2021 for the implementation of the Empty Dwelling Council Tax Premiums as legislated by the Government in November 2018. This allows councils to charge premiums of 100%, 200% and 300% for dwellings that have been empty for more than 2, 5 and 10 years respectively. The full details of the motion can be seen below:
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!”
