Lib Dems vow to save music venues
Liberal Democrats have passed the "Music Venues" policy motion at Autumn Conference in Bournemouth.
18 Sep 2019
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Shock as Newcastle Council Leader admits there's no Plan B on city's air quality crisis - only the Liberal Democrats have alternative proposals
Newcastle's Opposition Liberal Democrats have been left shocked after the Labour Leader of Council admitted that there is no Plan B in the event that Government refuses to stump up the cash for the Council's clean air proposals. In response to question from Cllr Ferguson, Labour's Cllr Forbes has been forced to admit that their proposals would be halted, with no alternatives or contingency planning in place. Cllr Ferguson expressed his surprise: "Another consultation with no plan from the Council's leadership about what to do if everyone doesn't agree to their plans. They're asking for £40m and the best they can do is say that if Government won't give them it, they'll sit and do nothing, whilst local residents rightly complain that their inaction is damaging public health right now. It's simply not good enough." The Opposition fears that the Council's leadership is losing control over this vital issue for the City as they try once again to come up with workable proposals that meet legal requirements and satis
18 Sep 2019
Jo Swinson's first speech as Leader to Liberal Democrats Party Conference - ignore media comment, read the full text for yourself
The full text can be read here www.libdems.org.uk/a19-jo
18 Sep 2019
Hinckley councillor speaks at national conference on need for fairer funding for local area
Hinckley councillor and Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Bosworth Michael Mullaney spoke at national Liberal Democrat conference on the need for fair funding for local services. The speech can be viewed here from 53 minutes in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjlOnX7KEEE
18 Sep 2019
Councillor issues call for more funding for Hinckley and Bosworth at national conference
Michael Mullaney puts the case for more investment in Hinckley and Bosworth at national conference ...
18 Sep 2019
Jo Swinson's First Speech as Leader!
See the video here
JS
18 Sep 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!”
