During the General Election campaign we promised we would hold the Conservatives to account. Our first challenge is over the traveller issue in Brentwood with an email direct to Alex Burghart MP from Cllr David Kendall:
TORY WATCH Tory minister admits extra nurses won't be in place for 10 years and cannot explain how government will stop 18,500 leaving - funny how this comes out now eh
Harpur Square will host the Bedford Christmas Market on Saturday 21st December.
Parliamentary candidate Dr Rebecca Trimnell almost doubled the Lib Dem vote in the General Election on December 12. Rebecca polled 4,338 votes - a 3% rise on Councillor Jeremy Hilton's result two years ago. Conservative MP Richard Graham increased his majority to over 10,000. Labour's vote in the city collapsed - dropping 5% in just two years - and the Green Party candidate lost their deposit. It is the Lib Dems best result in Gloucester since 2010 and gives a good foundation for next year's local elections. The result in full: Richard Graham (Con) 29,159 54% +3.9% Fran Boait (Lab) 18,882 35% −5% Rebecca Trimnell (Lib Dem) 4,338 8% +3% Michael Byfield (Green) 1,385 2.6% +1% Rebecca said: "It was an amazing experience standing as the Lib Dem candidate for Gloucester. "Very well done to Richard Graham and commiserations to Fran Boait."
The Liberal Democrat candidate Monica Harding fought a powerful campaign in the General Election in Esher & Walton - gai...
New figures revealed at a Bedford Borough Council Committee meeting have illustrated a dramatic rise in the proportion of people using smartphones to access the Council's website. A startling 59.8% of users of the Council's website since it was relaunched in December 2018 did so using their smartphone, compared to 32.6% using a desktop computer.
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!”
