Commenting on the Government cut to Universal Credit, Liberal Democrat Councillor Dean Crofts said "The decision to rip support from millions of families across the country shows how completely out of touch the Prime Minister really is. He claims that he wants people to live by their own efforts rather than welfare. So either he doesn't know that almost half of those receiving Universal Credit are already in work or he doesn't care."
Last Wednesday night it finally became much easier to see what Dacorum is doing and how local decision-making works. After some years of campaigning by Lib Dems, Dacorum took a step into the open by streaming "Full Council", 15th September 2021, live on YouTube. The two-hour evening meeting saw brief verbal reports from the Deputy Leader of the Council and six Cabinet Portfolios, each followed by 10 minutes of questioning, with the other 43 Councillors asking pairs of "question and follow-up" to the Cabinet. Then came the main event, with a debate opened by Lib Dem Co-Deputy Leader Cllr Adrian England, centred on the forthcoming Climate Conference COP26 and a proposal that Dacorum write to Ministers, to ask that Central Govt acts urgently on workforce shortages and scaling-up of plans for insulating more homes. Conservatives supported the Motion and Cabinet Portfolio-holder for Environment Cllr Graham Barrett seconded, so, unusually, there was unanimous agreement - important given the urgency and importa
Last Wednesday night it finally became much easier to see what Dacorum is doing and how local decision-making works. After some years of campaigning by Lib Dems, Dacorum took a step into the open by streaming "Full Council", 15th September 2021, live on YouTube. The two-hour evening meeting saw brief verbal reports from the Deputy Leader of the Council and six Cabinet Portfolios, each followed by 10 minutes of questioning, with the other 43 Councillors asking pairs of "question and follow-up" to the Cabinet. Then came the main event, with a debate opened by Lib Dem Co-Deputy Leader Cllr Adrian England, centred on the forthcoming Climate Conference COP26 and a proposal that Dacorum write to Ministers, to ask that Central Govt acts urgently on workforce shortages and scaling-up of plans for insulating more homes. Conservatives supported the Motion and Cabinet Portfolio-holder for Environment Cllr Graham Barrett seconded, so, unusually, there was unanimous agreement - important given the urgency and importa
The Council's Labour/Liberal Democrat Progressive Alliance expressed concerns about local police resourcing at last night's Full...
At last night's meeting of the Council, the Lib Dem Group put forward a successful motion opposing the Tory government's planning...
Conservative Councillor Clive Walford has quit the city council - meaning there will be a by-election in Longlevens in a few weeks.
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!”
