Thousands of people in Portsmouth are a facing the impossible choices as energy and food prices spiral out of control. This isn’t just making it difficult for local people to make ends meet, in many cases it is making it impossible.
Following a successful bid in March to the Zebra Scheme, Liberal Democrat-led Portsmouth City Council has been given £6.5m to purchase 34 new electric buses.
Liberal Democrats are calling on the government to stop the decline in NHS dentistry seen in Worcestershire. The Lib Dems have...
The Liberal Democrat group on Gloucester City Council has welcomed news that the Guildhall is to receive £230,702 from the Arts Council, to refurbish parts of the building and to enhance its live and digital performances.
At this week's meeting of Full Council, Mayor Dave Hodgson announced that he has signed a letter calling on the BBC to reverse their decision to merge the two branches of Look East. This comes after the BBC announced plans to end the Cambridge-based version on the regional news programme. This would move one of Bedford Borough residents' major sources of local news 100 miles away to Norwich.
The Liberal Democrat group on Gloucester City Council has welcomed news that the Guildhall is to receive £230,702 from the Arts Council, to refurbish parts of the building and to enhance its live and digital performances. The money will go towards creating a new dance rehearsal space with a sprung floor. High quality lighting, and audio equipment will be installed, and customers will benefit from the installation of superfast broadband throughout the venue. There will also be renovations to the main hall floor, kitchen and bar. Councillor Sebastian Field, Liberal Democrat group spokesman for culture and leisure, said: "Any investment in the city's cultural facilities is welcome, and this will hopefully bring many more visitors and customers to the Guildhall." Councillor Jeremy Hilton, Lib Dem group leader, said: "The cultural offer in Gloucester is okay for a small city but we know it could be better. "With renovations to King's Quarter, Debenhams and other parts of the city centre we need to make sure that w
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!”
