Families in Bedford Borough are paying over £23 million more a year for their energy bills because they are living in poorly insulated homes, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed. Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats are demanding that the government urgently invest in fixing leaky homes in the area and cut people's energy bills in the long term.
Families in Bedford Borough are paying over £23 million more a year for their energy bills because they are living in poorly insulated homes, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed. Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats are demanding that the government urgently invest in fixing leaky homes in the area and cut people's energy bills in the long term.
A protest walkout by the Liberal Democrats and other opposition parties took place at Norfolk County Council full council meeting on the 11th April, following the refusal to allow a debate on a Conservative decision to cut vital school holiday lunch vouchers. The scheme had been helping struggling families since the start of the covid 19 pandemic. The Conservative administration at Norfolk County Council decided to stop the scheme giving families only a weeks notice, with some parents having no notice at all. Other councils in East Anglia continue the vital lunch vouchers. Local Liberal Democrat County Councillor for Gaywood South, Rob Colwell left the council chamber and went straight to Kings Lynn Food Bank to find out what they were short of. Financial pressures on families were already high with the rising cost of living crisis and a list of family essentials was passed to Rob, who went on to purchase the same from his own monthly allowance. In the first week of the holiday Rob had already helped desp
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About Brian: Local campaigner Brian Wernham is our Liberal Democrat candidate in the Stanwix Urban ward. Brian and his family...
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!”
