We are saddened to learn of the death of Sir David Amess, MP for Southend West, this afternoon. As public servants we work in the heart of our communities all year round. That this should happen makes it harder to bear for his family and for all of us in public office. Our thoughts and condolences are with Sir David's family at this sad time.
First ever non-Conservative LEADS Spelthorne Council History was made at the end of May this year when Councillor Lawrence Nichols was elected Liberal Democrat Leader of the Council. He became the first non-Conservative to hold this position since the Authority was created in 1974. Lawrence heads a multi-Party grouping formed to radically alter how Spelthorne is run. He is supported by Independent Councillor Jo Sexton as his Deputy. This change coincides with the introduction of a Committee based system which will bring greater accountability, participation and transparency to the Council's affairs after the previous Strong Leader model was discredited. Commenting after his election Lawrence said "It is truly an honour to have been elected. I am determined to do everything I can to serve all our residents and businesses, as we face the many challenges coming out of lockdown and the steps back to normality".
1.Road Safety. A road safety study being carried out on whole length of the B4386 from A5 to the Powys border looking at aspects such as speed, the character of the road and the traffic using it. In addition, another study is looking at the introduction of 20mph speed limits work going on for Chirbury and Long Mountain Primary Schools. The Parish Councils and I have been lobbying for these for some time and will be pressing for some action on the results.
Good morning
The UK will host the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on 31 October to 12 November. Medway Liberal Democrats have long campaigned on environmental issues which affect our towns and we want to stay active on this issue, this is why we have decided to launch an environmental campaign for Medway to raise awareness of environmental concerns that affect our towns. This also coincides with our national 5 point green recovery plan.
During National Hate Crime Awareness Week, LDDA executive member and wheelchair user Julie Adnams Hatch shares how a recent experience of hate crime affected her. She explains how to report hate crime and why it's so important to record every incident. This #NationalHCAW we want to talk about disability hate crime.
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!”
