Federal Party Autumn Conference 2020 - Preview of Day Three, Sunday 27th September Federal Conference commences at 10am on Sunday with an Emergency Motion or topical discussion to be determined from motions or items submitted for debate or discussion.
A meeting of the governing bodies of the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups taking place tomorrow, Tuesday 22nd September, will decide whether to proceed with a merger to create one commissioning body for their combined area. Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats are calling for the merger plans to be scrapped due to the increased risk of a more remote healthcare commissioning authority covering a much wider area making decisions which do not meet the needs of local communities in Bedford Borough.
Our health and social care heroes have supported this country in a time of crisis. Now it’s our turn to support them, and tackle the growing mental health crisis in the health and care sector.
This week we have yet another u-turn from the Conservative Government, this time on their plans to dissolve local Councils and replace them with Unitary authorities. Guildford Liberal Democrats are pleased the Conservatives have seen sense after pressure but not before wasting valuable time and money at local council level, where after years of funding cuts there is simply none going spare.
Over 500 people have signed a petition to keep the popular Sainsbury's supermarket in Gloucester city centre open after its closure was announced. Liberal Democrat Dr Rebecca Trimnell launched the petition after learning the supermarket in Northgate Street will close. The supermarket giant has been in the same location for 50 years and the store is a vital lifeline for people who live near the city centre. It is also well-used by shoppers who travel into the city centre on public transport from across the city. Since Dr Trimnell launched the petition three weeks ago over 500 people have signed it and the Liberal Democrats have written to the chief executive of Sainsbury's PLC to express the strength of feeling locally. Dr Trimnell, who is a Lib Dem campaigner for the Westgate area including the city centre, said: "I want to thank everyone who has signed the petition so far. "Each extra person signing the petition adds weight to the campaign to keep the store open. The Sainsbury's store is the only decent size
The Liberal Democrats are calling for an extension of the Government's furlough scheme until the jobs market is "ready to bounce...
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!”
