Misplaced loyalty to idea of Brexit
Dear Sir,
DPH
1 Aug 2019
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Misplaced loyalty to idea of Brexit
Dear Sir,
DPH
1 Aug 2019
Stone crushing causing and noise misery to local residents
The stone crushing operation granted by the Tory controlled county council continues to be an environmental nuisance, causing misery to residents of Swallow Park and Armscroft Estate. Long standing residents will be aware that the issues of noise and dust have blighted nearby residents for over a decade but things seem to have got worse recently with some residents saying that they dare not go outside or open windows even in the height of the summer. County Councillor Jeremy Hilton, along with city councillors Howard Hyman and Emily Ryall, met with the county council and city council officers end of May to express their concerns and to urge action. Council officers along with Environmental Health are collating evidence from residents on the effect of the stone crushing activity. Residents have also formed an action group that will keep the pressure on the authorities to act. Residents have been asked to keep records of noise and dust and send the records to julie.bettridge@gloucester.gov.uk
1 Aug 2019
Mayor Dave Hosts Meeting with Maldives Ambassador to the UK
Mayor Dave Hodgson welcomed the Maldives Ambassador to the UK to the Mayor's Parlour in The Old Town Hall in Bedford this week, where they discussed the welcome given to the Maldives 2012 Olympic Team while it used Bedford as a base, along with a range of other topics.
1 Aug 2019
Prepare for an October General Election
Uttlesford Liberal Democrats were told by Tom Brake MP, the Lib Dem spokesman on Brexit at Westminster, to prepare for another General Election in October. Tom Brake was the speaker at a Supper Club event in Stansted Day Centre recently. The audience included some of the 50 new members that have joined the party locally in the last two months.
MC
1 Aug 2019
The Government's ‘Serious Violence Strategy’ is neither serious nor a strategy
Responding to the Home Affairs select committee report into the youth violence epidemic, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Ed Davey MP said "Youth violence is an epidemic, and the Home Affairs Committee is absolutely right to say that the Conservative Government's response is woefully inadequate. As this report makes clear, the Government's 'Serious Violence Strategy' is neither serious nor a strategy. Tory Ministers pay lip service to a public health approach, but don't seem to even know what it means.
1 Aug 2019
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!”
