Lib Dems gain seat from Labour from 4th place with 33% swing
A pair of Labour defences make up this week's council by-elections. One in Cornwall and one in Sunderland, both have a Liberal Democrat candidate (yay).
2 Feb 2018
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
2 Feb 2018
Southwark Council increases Council Tax ‘to the max’
Labour-run Southwark Council have announced they will increase council tax by 3% this year. This is the second year in a row they have done so.
2 Feb 2018
Personal Independence Payment - all the 1.6 million claims done so far, will be reviewed.
Every person receiving Personal Independence Payments (PIP) will have their claim reviewed, the Department for Work and Pensions has said. A total of 1.6 million of the main disability benefit claims will be reviewed, with around 220,000 people expected to receive more money.
1 Feb 2018
Braden Moreton jailed for beating disabled teen
A leader of a drugs gang, who beat and robbed a disabled man he thought owed him a debt, has been sentenced to 14 years in a young offenders institution. Carlisle Crown Court was told Braden Moreton, 19, of no fixed address, attacked his victim with a hammer, a wrench and even his own crutches.
1 Feb 2018
Average age of first stroke in England falls, figures show
The average age of people in England who have a stroke for the first time has fallen over the past decade, new figures show. It dropped from 71 to 68 for men and 75 to 73 for women between 2007 and 2016, Public Health England data shows. Over the same period, the proportion of first-time strokes suffered by 40 to 69-year-olds rose from 33% to 38%.
AT
1 Feb 2018
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!”
