A131 Chelmsford to Braintree route improvements
Works are starting this month on a £7.3 million investment to improve the A131 Braintree Road and the A130 Essex Regiment Way.
30 Jan 2018
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
School Lane Traffic Issues
Moseley Liberal Democrat campaigner Izzy Knowles recently attended a meeting about traffic management in School Road. Local residents have been calling for action to deal with the poor driving they are experiencing daily on the section of School Road from the roundabout outside Kings Heath Primary School to the junction with Prospect and Ashfield Roads.
30 Jan 2018
Lib Dems: inflation hit bill-payers will struggle to make ends meet because of Brexit - House of Lords report
A hard Brexit that would see Britain no longer trade energy in the Internal Energy Market is likely to increase British energy bills, the House of Lords' EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee is expected to say on Monday.
30 Jan 2018
Baber Baz cleans up in Yardley West and Stechford
Liberal Democrat Campaigner Babar Baz is continuing his clean up efforts in Yardley West and Stechford.
29 Jan 2018
MP pushes Government to stop water companies getting away with lower flood defence standards
South Lakes MP Tim Farron has pushed the Government to stop water companies getting away with lower flood defence standards
29 Jan 2018
‘A big step in the right direction’ - Local MP welcomes improvement in Cumbria’s children services
South Lakes MP Tim Farron has welcomed a new report which shows that Cumbria County Council is improving its services for children.
29 Jan 2018
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!”
