Woking Lib Dems welcome new leader and launch National Listening Project
Woking Lib Dems have today welcomed the election of Ed Davey as the Leader of the Lib Dems and backed his plans for a National Listening Project.
28 Aug 2020
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Brentwood High Street closure update
In an effort to encourage social distancing, kick start the local economy and try and make a more pleasant shopping experience, Essex County Council and B
28 Aug 2020
Wiltshire Lib Dems want to hear your views on parking
As part of Wiltshire Lib Dem's Residents Survey, we want to hear your views specifically on parking. If you're interested in...
WLD
28 Aug 2020
Clinical Commissioning Group Merger
From 1 April 2021, Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Clinical Commissioning Groups are planning to merge into one single NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
28 Aug 2020
SHDC Parking Permits Review
South Hams District Council is conducting a review of how its parking permits work.The consultation runs until Friday 11 September. Cllr Keith Baldry, Executive Member for Environment at South Hams District Council, said: "We have decided to conduct a thorough review of our permits across the District so we can hear what residents and visitors want. We want to have a fair and consistent approach to our permit parking but we need to know what you, our residents and visitors, think about it first. "We know there are particular parking issues in Dartmouth and Salcombe so we're suggesting that we reduce the number of permits there in the future to increase available visitor spaces." Find out more about the proposals and how to share your views here.
28 Aug 2020
Read Ed Davey's first speech to members as leader of the Liberal Democrats.
Hopefully you all managed to vote in the recent leadership election. We are glad that we now have a permanent leader in Ed Davey and hope that he can now concentrate on taking the party forward. We know there is national ground to recover and look forward to seeing the party energy revitalised. We were glad to hear that Ed will be launching a national listening programme so voters can tell us what matters to them. Congratulations to Ed!
28 Aug 2020
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!”
