Last night on the floor of the House of Commons, South Lakes MP Tim Farron warned the Government that failure to extend support for the hospitality and tourism sector through the winter will see thousands of jobs and businesses collapse.
Plymouth Liberal Democrats joined other local parties in the region on Monday morning (29th of June), to take part in a...
2020 Vision: more than halfway…! Wow - this last week has been intense - not just for me, but for those in the `back room`, our very professional team, Caron and Alison, and a considerable number of voluntary helpers (I am not going to list names because the biggest danger is in missing even one person from the list and then effectively upsetting everybody!!)
The 13th National People's Congress (NPC) has just passed a new law on 30th June to introduce a system of "National Security" to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) so China will have power over its long term stability. The national security law seeks to ban acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, in accordance with its laws including any "foreign or external interference". Criticism of the national anthem will also be outlawed and mainland Chinese security agents will be able to set up offices in HK.
On Sunday 28 June at 1400 BST, a time chosen to suit a global audience, LibDems Overseas (LDO) a g(local) party co-hosted our first webinar with the Paddy Ashdown Forum, the centrist think tank supported by the European Liberal Forum. Participants who joined via Zoom were largely drawn from LDO's 1000 members and supporters living in over 40 countries outside Europe. The event was moderated by LDO Chair, George Cunningham.
Mr Johnson is hyping up small amounts of spending on buildings for schools and hospitals. But what about teachers and teaching assistants?
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!”
