Heed police advice' says town councillor
Whaley Bridge councillor David Lomax said he went around the town knocking on doors, advising people to get out of their homes yesterday afternoon.
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2 Aug 2019
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
The Countdown is on - Less than a Year Until River Festival 2020
There is now under a year until Bedford River Festival 2020, which will take place on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th July next year.
2 Aug 2019
Rising crime in Gloucester is no great surprise, say Lib Dems
Crime in Gloucester has risen by 11% in the past year and is further proof of the impact of police cuts in the city, according to the Liberal Democrats. Gloucestershire Police has nearly 300 fewer police officer than a decade ago and police and community support officers have also been cut by 34% since 2009. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there was an 11% rise in recorded crime between March 2018 and March 2019. Across the county there was a 3% rise in crime - with Gloucester seeing the highest rise in Gloucestershire. Yet Cheltenham, Stroud and the Forest of Dean saw a reduction in crime in the last 12 months. Other recent published ONS statistics show that knife crime in the county rose 12% in 2018/19 from 2017/18. Dr Rebecca Trimnell, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary spokeswoman for Gloucester, said: "I'm deeply concerned by this latest rise in crime in the city. "Gloucestershire Police has had to make savings of £32 million, so it is no wonder that the Thin Blue Line is getting even thinner.
2 Aug 2019
Lib Dem by-election success & local campaigning to protect the NHS
Slough Lib Dems are celebrating the success of Jane Dodds in being elected MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and capturing the seat from Boris Johnson's Brexit Tories.
2 Aug 2019
MP meets Friends of the Lake District Chief Exec to discuss boundary changes
Local MP Tim Farron met with the Chair of the Friends of the Lake District, Douglas Chalmers to discuss the proposed expansion of the national park.
2 Aug 2019
Liberal Democrats are celebrating their latest by election win
The Liberal Democrats are this morning celebrating the election of Jane Dodds as the MP for Brecon and Radnorshire.
2 Aug 2019
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!”
