This is a victory for the Liberal Democrats and all those campaigners who stood up for our civil liberties against these deeply illiberal and unworkable plans. The Conservatives have needlessly sown confusion among businesses for months by threatening to introduce Covid passports, and will not be forgiven for it. After this inevitable U-turn, the Conservatives must now see sense and scrap the unnecessary and draconian Coronavirus Act as well.
Bedford Borough Council has listened to parents, carers, practitioners and school staff, about how they would like to have improved information on where to access support for mental health and wellbeing.
City councillors are to debate a motion over concerns about anti-social behaviour and petty crime in Gloucester. If approved, the council will invite the newly-elected police and crime commissioner for Gloucestershire, Chris Nelson, to address council on his plans to reduce anti-social behaviour in the city. The motion, which has been proposed by the Liberal Democrats, asks council to agree that increasing the number of police officers and PCSOs patrolling in Gloucester to cut anti-social behaviour and reduce crime is an objective the council could support. The Lib Dems are asking that a letter be sent to Gloucestershire's PCC, from the three group leaders inviting Mr Nelson to address council in open session on his plans to improve community policing in the city of Gloucester, allowing for a question-and-answer session from elected members following Mr Nelson's address to council. Lib Dem group leader Jeremy Hilton, who proposed the motion, said: "Tackling anti-social behaviour across the city was a manifest
Soham North by-election candidate, Anne Pallett, who is representing the Liberal Democrats on the 23rd of September is campaigning for more for local ...
Following the resignation of Liberal Democrat Councillor, Victoria Charlesworth, a by-election has been called in Soham North for Thursday 23rd Septem...
The Liberal Democrats Autumn Federal Conference is this weekend and in LGBT+LD we have a series of events across the four days.
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!”
