Southern Water discharging raw sewage to our harbours
Southern Water makes staggering £138.8m profit despite dumping sewage in the Solent, Langstone, Chichester Harbours
23 Jun 2022
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
CANCELLED SUNDERLAND FESTIVAL TO COST TAXPAYERS £142,000
Lib Dem councillors in Sunderland have hit out after it was revealed that cancelling the planned Lamplight Festival could cost city taxpayers as much as £142,000 in costs and artist cancellation fees. Opposition Liberal Democrat councillors on Sunderland Council are calling for an overhaul of the authority's event strategy after it was revealed that the cancellation of this year's Lamplight Festival will cost taxpayers as much as £142,000. The Lamplight Festival was due to be held on 5th, 6th and 7th August in Mowbray Park, with acts including Kaiser Chiefs, Deacon Blue and The Futureheads due to perform. Information uncovered by Lib Dem councillors reveals that £9,288 was spent on marketing the festival in 2022. This included: • £7,000 for a specialist music PR and social media management firm • Just £200 on promoting social media posts to advertise the festival • £1,650 for adverts on screens at the Wearmouth and Northern Spire bridges • £1,840 for two adverts in 'NARC' and 'NE volume' magazines
SOB
23 Jun 2022
MP urges Chancellor and Business Secretary to fix gaps in energy bills support
This morning, local MP Tim Farron has written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, asking them to urgently address gaps in the Government's energy rebate scheme.
23 Jun 2022
Plans on track for Wixams Station
Bedford Borough Council is launching a public engagement on its plans for a new railway station at Wixams from Monday 27 June.
23 Jun 2022
Families facing £1,300 bombshell from inflation and tax hikes
The Liberal Democrats have slammed the Conservatives as not having "any sense or any soul" for inaction on the cost of living crisis as families face a near £1,300 bombshell from inflation and tax hikes.
23 Jun 2022
Hampshire County Council to Cut £700,000 from Social Care
The Hampshire County Council cut of £700,000 in charitable grants to social care groups is extremely short-sighted. So says Romsey's County Councillor, Mark Cooper. "The work done by local charities in the field of social care is extremely cost effective. The reduction in funding to the charities will lead to additional costs having to be picked up by other publicly funded bodies such as the NHS and the Hampshire Constabulary".
22 Jun 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!”
