Mid Sussex Times
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In her weekly column, Alison Bennett, MP for Mid Sussex, discusses the recent Budget.
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Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
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Martin Tod
Statement on delay of Mayoral elections until 2028
I was running for Mayor because I and my Lib Dem colleagues want to get things moving: improving our environment, delivering growth, getting more affordable homes, tackling the challenges of our health system and fixing our transport. And I still do.
4 Dec 2025
Mayoral election delays slammed by Lib Dems
Responding to reports that the Government plans to delay some mayoral elections until 2028, Liberal Democrat Local Government spokesperson Zöe Franklin said:
4 Dec 2025
Ian Sollom MP writes about the importance of the International Baccalaureate Diploma and why the cut in funding is a poor decision by the Government
"Education, education, education." When Tony Blair stated his top three priorities to the Labour Party conference in October 1996, it was a brilliant soundbite that is still remembered to this day.
4 Dec 2025
Lib Dems unveil major new food security plan
Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Tim Farron MP, has unveiled a major new food security plan, which includes a proposal to launch a 'farm first' scheme - a parallel to Teach First - designed to attract young people to
3 Dec 2025
Waverley
Tories left red-faced after High Court backs Waverley’s position on CIL
For months, local Tories have been telling residents that Waverley Borough Council could choose to cancel Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charges, even where homeowners or their agents failed to follow the mandatory steps in national legislation.
WLD
3 Dec 2025
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!”
