Safer Streets Fund to make streets safer for everyone
Bedford Borough is to benefit from funding for local Safer Streets projects.
9 Nov 2022
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Lib Dems angry over moving Elmbridge to Tewkesbury
The Liberal Democrats have branded proposals to move Elmbridge out of Gloucester and into Tewkesbury as "farcical".
8 Nov 2022
Sign our Petition
In the last few weeks Park Road and Queens Road have been turned into a traffic cut through by Hampshire Highways Authority due to the Lynchford road improvement works. These roads are not suitable for such high traffic volumes.
LC
8 Nov 2022
Help and support during the cost of living crisis
The Lib Dems have produced an advice leaflet for any resident in Longlevens who is concerned about the cost of living crisis.
8 Nov 2022
Film studio plan for Pallion Shipyard: local councillors welcome proposals
Lib Dem councillors have welcomed the news that the city's Pallion Shipyard could be brought back to life as film studio development. Local councillors for Pallion Martin Haswell, George Smith and Colin Nicholson met with Pallion Engineering who own the site to discuss the vision for re opening the site. The facility on the banks of the River Wear next to the Queen Alexandra Bridge was opened in 1976 and closed in 1988. Liberal Democrat councillor for Pallion Martin Haswell said: "This is fantastic news for Pallion and for Sunderland. It is really encouraging to hear that Pallion Engineering are looking to bring back the shipyard site back into use for a film use, creating new jobs and breathing life back into the mothballed site."
MH
8 Nov 2022
Tory Britain: rampant inflation, and a sustained squeeze on all our finances.
Jeremy Hunt's first budget as Chancellor was bleak to say the least. The OBR has forecast that the next two years will see the biggest fall in household incomes in generations.
8 Nov 2022
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!”
