On the Campaign Trail
With the election campaign in full swing, the Lib Dems have teams out across Chelmsford. Linda Mascot and Tom Willis (Councillors for Goat Hall ward) were out on the campaign trail in south Chelmsford.
27 Nov 2019
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Eggleston's plan to revive our High Streets
Robert Eggleston, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Mid Sussex vows to tackle the threat to our local town and village centres.
27 Nov 2019
Lib Dems: Dishonest to promise more nurses under Boris Johnson
Lib Dems: Dishonest to promise more nurses under Boris Johnson Responding to the Conservative Party manifesto commitment to 50,000 more nurses, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Social Care Luciana Berger said:
26 Nov 2019
Mismatch of £80m between Tory Manifesto and Costings document
Mismatch of £80m between Tory Manifesto and Costings document Commenting on the publication of the Conservative manifesto for the 2019 General Election, Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said that in addition to the 83% of schools which would still have lower per-pupil funding in 2020 than in 2015 in real terms, the Conservative manifesto had revealed £340m of further cuts to school budgets in 2023/24.
26 Nov 2019
Press Release: Guildford council leader announces plan to 'start again' with Chantry Wood Campsite
At tonight's (26/11/2019) Executive meeting of Guildford Borough Council, council leader Cllr Caroline Reeves will make the...
26 Nov 2019
Press Release: Guildford council leader announces plan to 'start again' with Chantry Wood campsite
At tonight's (26/11/2019) Executive meeting of Guildford Borough Council, council leader Cllr Caroline Reeves will make the following leaders' announcement: "After talking with Pauline Searle, the lead councillor for Countryside and Rural Life, and Peter O'Connell, Director of Environment, we have agreed to consider all the responses to the public consultation for Chantry Wood campsite. "We will then stop the process, review the situation and start again to find a way of assessing the feasibility of what different residents and groups actually want." This follows a number of concerns raised by residents over the decision based on an item brought to an Executive meeting during the previous administration. Cllr Pauline Searle commented: "It appears that there has been disquiet over the consultation and a number of people have been in touch to say the options provided are not what the community wants. By starting the process again we can try to resolve these problems."
26 Nov 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!”
