Liberal Democrat peer, Lord Chris Rennard, has written a 'where we are' report on the passage of the Elections Bill through the Lords. We've of course been supporting our Lords' opposition to the bill - and there will be at least one more round of lobbying coming up in late April. Click here to read the article.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have criticised local MS James Evans for implying that his party believes in lowering taxes. In response, Mid and West Wales Senedd Member Jane Dodds said it was “ironic” to imply that is what the Conservative Party stands for when the current Government has raised the tax burden to its highest level since the 1940s. . .
Scottish Liberal Democrat and Shetland MSP, Beatrice Wishart has met with Loganair chiefs, Jonathan Hinkles, Chief Executive, and Maurice Boyle, Chief Operations Officer, and Orkney MSP Liam McArthur today to discuss recent delays
The idea that the Tories look after those who are reputed to vote for them took a big knock today as it has just been reported by an associate director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (the independent pverty charity) that "Pensioners have seen the value of their State Pensions fall in real terms in eight of the last ten years. It also means that in terms of their values, how much bread and milk you can buy in the shops, it is the biggest fall in value since 1972". A Tory Chancellor has therefore engineered the biggest fall in the value of the the State Pension for 50 years. Many Pensioners are now learning that the pound in their purse is not safe in the hands of the Tories as poverty looms on the horizon.
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have both been fined for breaking Covid laws.
The West Lothian Liberal Democrats have called on Councillor Chris Horne and his fellow Conservative council candidates to sack...
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!”
