Throughout this week, the Royal Horticultural Society and others have been promoting National Gardening Week and the many health and environmental benefits of looking after and enjoying gardens. You can find out more about National Gardening Week and this year's theme - which is to encourage people to 'Get Your Dose of Vitamin G' - on the RHS website here: https://www.rhs.org.uk/get-involved/national-gardening-week/
Asit Sodha will represent the Liberal Democrats in Thursdays North Evington by-election to Leicester City Council for the vacant seat. The Election was due to take place a year ago but postponed due to the pandemic. A social distanced team have been out delivering the Focus in the ward.
Leola Card is a long time Liberal Democrat campaigner and has lived in Rushmoor all her life. She has been chosen to stand in the...
Rural communities are vital to the character and strength of Wales. Liberal Democrats have a long tradition of representing these...
In these challenging times, we believe that the future of mental health care should be community-based and locally focused, helping people experiencing mental ill health not just survive, but thrive. We are proud to support Mental Health Awareness Week hosted by the Mental Health Foundation and will continue to campaign for better mental health care this week and all year round. This year's theme is 'nature' and Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of access to green spaces and nature for physical and mental health for those who live alone across our towns, or without access to gardens, balconies, or green space. The parks and green spaces around our towns are vital resources for us all, bringing our communities together and benefitting our physical and mental health and wellbeing. Local Liberal Democrat and mental health campaigner Alan Collins Rosell said, "the past year or so has been particularly tough on people's wellbeing, but at the height of the restrictions the opportunity to leave the house for a
Sally Pattle, Liberal Democrat candidate for the Scottish Parliament constituency of Linlithgow, has called upon the West Lothian...
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!”
