Liberal Democrat run Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council have written to local NHS chiefs offering to loan them the money to bring X-ray services back to the town.
Boris Johnson announced yesterday that he has agreed a Brexit deal with the EU. But the fight to stop Brexit is far from over. If the Johnson deal passes the UK is heading for 'fairly hard' Brexit. Lib Dem Leader Jo Swinson MP said, The proposed deal will be bad for our economy, bad for our public services and bad for environmental standards. Just like every version of Brexit, this is a bad deal. Johnson's deal is nowhere near as good as the deal we have now, as a member of the EU. That is why I am more determined than ever to stop Brexit. That is why Liberal Democrats will be arguing that any deal should go back to the public in a People's Vote.
With Johnson doing all he can to force his so-called "new deal" through Parliament tomorrow, despite experts' warnings that his hastily compromised version of May's thrice-defeated deal is even worse and will spell total disaster for the UK (aside, that is, from the handful of wealthy Johnson cronies who stand to benefit at the expense of the rest of us British citizens), tomorrow's People's Vote March in London is set to be the most important one yet.
It is National Adoption Week, 14 - 20 October and Bedford Borough Council is urging adoptive families to come forward in an effort to provide homes for children.
Rana Das Gupta, the Liberal Democrats Parliamentary Candidate for Rugby & Bulkington, has written to the local papers about Brexit and the current political situation. Dear Editor, The Liberal Democrats have always opposed Brexit and were arguing to stop it when it was deeply unfashionable to do so immediately after the 2016 result. Unfortunately, so keen was the Labour Leader for the UK to head for the exit door that Jeremy Corbyn was insisting Article 50 be invoked the day after the 2016 referendum result. This is because Mr Corbyn does not care for EU membership, beyond the needs of political management inside and outside the Labour Party.
Responding to the report, Liberal Democrats Parliamentary Candidate for Rugby and Bulkington Rana Das Gupta, said:
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!”
