Part Four of our ‘Plan for the Future’
The Lib Dems will introduce free childcare from 9 months, transforming the lives of parents and children across the UK.
CWF
11 Nov 2019
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Communities Across Bedford Borough Come Together for Acts of Remembrance
On Remembrance Sunday and then on Armistice Day today, 11th November, communities across Bedford Borough came together in acts of remembrance for those who have lost their lives in service on behalf of us all.
11 Nov 2019
After the expulsions from the Conservative party ...
After the expulsions from the Conservative party, the entry-ism into it, the lurching to more and more extreme right-wing policies, and now the explicit endorsement by the Brexit party, we now know Nigel Farage's takeover of the Conservative party is complete.
11 Nov 2019
A Message for Remembrance Day
The Teesside Pioneers, 12th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment, was a battalion of friends raised on the banks of the Tees. Responding to the call to serve, they joined the army and because of their engineering and construction skills, they became Army Pioneers, the troops put to work making roads, building trenches, but also required to fight. The Teesside Pioneers served in France and Belgium, suffering such heavy casualties that eventually the troops that were left were incorporated into other units. The son of Russian refugees who had come to Teesside, Lt. Harold Bloom, 12 Battalion, was killed on 14 February 1917, fighting for his adopted country.
11 Nov 2019
BREXIT PARTY STANDING DOWN IN RUNNYMEDE & WEYBRIDGE SHOWS FARAGE WORRIED ABOUT LIB DEMS STOPPING BREXIT
Responding to the news that Nigel Farage's Brexit Party will not be standing a candidate in Runnymede & Weybrdge, Liberal Democrat candidate Rob O'Carroll said:
11 Nov 2019
SUFFOLK COASTAL LIB DEMS ADOPT JULES EWART AS PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE
CAMPAIGN 2019 - 31 DAYS TO POLLING DAY LIB DEM MEMBERS ADOPT LEADING REMAINER, JULES EWART AS PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE TO FIGHT SUFFOLK COASTAL SEAT Leading Suffolk 'Remain' campaigner Jules Ewart has been adopted by the Liberal Democrats to contest the Suffolk Coastal seat at the election on 12th December.
11 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!”
