Local Election Results & Thanks
With the 2019 Council Elections over, I want to thank all members, supporters and those electors who voted Liberal Democrat. A...
3 May 2019
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Winning Here Across the North West
It's been a remarkable night for the Lib Dems in the council elections - across England as a whole and here in the North West.
3 May 2019
Brentwood Lib Dems celebrate significant wins!
The Lib Dems are back across the UK! Here in Brentwood, we made four gains and held the seat we were defending. We won Brentwood North, Brentwood West, Shenfield, Pilgrims Hatch and Warley as well as increasing our vote share across the borough. Our group is now 13 and the Conservative majority has been cut from thirteen to just three. Cllr Barry Aspinell, Group Leader, said: "What a fantastic result! I am delighted to welcome Cllr Mark Lewis, Cllr Sarah Cloke, Cllr Andy Fryd and Cllr Jay Laplain to the team and, of course, to see my dear ward colleague Cllr Vicky Davies back. This result is going to completely change the dynamic of the council and we look forward to an invigorated and larger Lib Dem group, holding the administration to account all year round."
3 May 2019
The journey from Bunyan to Brickworks at The Higgins
As part of the exhibition, 'Pride Inspiration Hope' The Journey From Bunyan to the Brickworks, The Higgins Bedford will host a variety of accompanying events and talks based on exploring the journeys of pride, inspiration and hope made by John Bunyan, alongside those who came to Bedford after the Second World War to work at the Brickworks. These events take place during May.
3 May 2019
Lib Dems sweep to victory in Hinckley and Bosworth
Liberal Democrats stormed to victory in Hinckley and Bosworth gaining the council from the Conservatives. The Lib Dems won 21 council seats, the Conservatives were reduced to 11 seats and Labour won just 2
3 May 2019
Vince Cable campaigns in Mole Valley
On the eve of the local elections, Lib Dem leader Vince Cable spent a couple of hours supporting some of the candidates standing in the following day's elections for Mole Valley District Council.
3 May 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!”
