Gloucester's future under threat from unitary council plan
Two thousand years of history should be protected if the Government pushes ahead with plans to reorganise local government in Gloucester, according to the Liberal Democrats.
30 Jul 2020
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Opposition slams Newcastle Council's long-term commitment to second-worst waste management option
Newcastle Liberal Democrats Opposition councillors have reacted with alarm to the Council's announcement that, with other North East authorities, they plan to plough £2.1bn into an Energy-from-Waste facility in the Tees Valley. Whilst so-called Energy Recovery Facilities (ERFs) are viewed as a preferable mechanism for waste management compared to landfill, they do not compare to reuse or recycling as effective ways to deal with waste. The Council's own figures indicate that an increasing proportion of the City's waste is "recovered"- often meaning it is sent to an ERF- whilst recycling rates have remained relatively static since 2011/12. Investing billions in the new facility and committing more waste to ERFs makes it unclear how the Council intends to reach its 50% recycling rate for household waste this year (as per the Waste Strategy), or the even more challenging 65% recycling rate by 2035. Cllr Gareth Kane, Opposition Environment Spokesperson, said: "It's not clear how this announcement fits wit
30 Jul 2020
Govt are failing survivors of sexual violence
Today, the Crown Prosecution Service announced a new strategy to tackle the drop in charging and prosecutions for rape, as it was also reported that the number of rape convictions in England and Wales had fallen to a record low.
30 Jul 2020
West Lothian
Caron Lindsay calls for the protection of important local services
These past few months have been tough for all of us. Being stuck at home for weeks on end is difficult enough on its own. But for...
30 Jul 2020
Bedford Borough receives 188k funding for English language classes
Bedford Borough Council has been successful in receiving funding to help adults with their English language skills.
30 Jul 2020
England has highest levels of excess deaths in Europe - Government must learn lessons to protect the whole country
England has had the highest excess mortality across Europe in the first half of 2020, according to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics - and Scotland is the 3rd worst too. Newcastle Liberal Democrats Cllr Dr WEndy Taylor, who leads on health matters said:
30 Jul 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!”
