"The violent and repressive scenes we are witnessing in Hong Kong are unacceptable," Newcastle LIberal Democrats Cllr Robin Ashby said, responding to the reports that police clashed with pro-democracy protesters when attempting to disperse them at Hong Kong airport.
Chuka talks to LDER
Responding to Boris Johnson's announcement on investing in prison security, Bedford Borough Liberal Democrat Crime and Policing spokesperson Councillor Hilde Hendrickx said "This is yet another hollow move by Boris Johnson to seem tough on crime, but yet again fails to tackle the causes of crime. The further funding announced is still not being used to rehabilitate people to stop them committing crimes in the first place."
The Liberal Democrats have chosen local campaigner Thomas Mitchell to stand in the St Mark's by-election. The poll will be held...
The number of potholes reported in Newcastle has soared from just over 15,000 to more than 21,000 in the last year. Fixing the backlog is estimated to have a £116 million price tag attached - money the City doesn't have. It will take Government intervention to get this show back on the road! But it's not a "sexy story" for the headline grabbers.
Following detailed consideration of the impact on Spelthorne of the proposals for Heathrow expansion, the Lib Dems put forward a motion to the Council in July proposing that the development was unsustainable and should be objected to in principle. The Tories, despite well known individual concerns, were whipped to support an amendment that kicked the issue into the long grass.
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!”
