Our West Midlands Emergency Services deserve the up-most respect
A tweet, showing an appalling attitude to an Emergency Responder to an event in Staffordshire HERE
20 Feb 2018
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Local Lib Dems Support Alfie Dingley
Chair of Shepway Liberal Democrats and Sandgate Parish Councillor Gary Fuller has written to Damian Collins MP to urge him to intervene with the Home Secretary in the case of Alfie Dingley. Alfie suffers from an extremely rare form of epilepsy and can suffer up to 30 severe seizures per day. He has been denied a licence for medical cannabis, which is the only treatment that significantly reduces the number of seizures he suffers. Fellow local Lib Dems and parish councillors Tim Prater and Neil Matthews have also written to Damian Collins urging him to act. They wrote:
20 Feb 2018
Concerns raised over plans for another McDonalds – Rugby Lib Dems
Rugby Liberal Democrats are very concerned about a planning application for a drive through McDonalds on the former Gala Bingo Site at Evreux Way and have 'called in' the application to the Planning Committee.
RLD
19 Feb 2018
Government cash for Trowbridge
The redevelopment of the East Wing and Ashton Street sites in Trowbridge will take a step forward after £700,000 was awarded by the government this week.
19 Feb 2018
Letter to Bucks Herald calling for fossil fuel divestment
Brexit continues to dominate the political agenda as we progress into 2018. And there are signs that our campaign is bearing fruit, with, according to the latest polls, a majority now supporting our call for a second referendum.
19 Feb 2018
Words of Wisdom from Co-Chair of CLD Tatyan Cheung
Co-Chair of Chinese Liberal Democrats Tatyan Cheung gives a rare interview on what attracted him to the Liberal Democrats, life as a Town Councillor and encourages younger members of Chinese community to get involved in politics too.
19 Feb 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!”
