The Liberal Democrats Opposition on Newcastle City Council is alarmed at Labour's attempt to severely restrict the normal business of Council by stretching the use of established procedures to extraordinary lengths.
Bedford Borough Council Executive will next week discuss the financial impact of coronavirus in a report which sets out an expected financial gap of £32.6millon over the next two years.
The Lib Dems on Woking Borough Council have announced that they support the Local Electricity Bill.
When the North of Tyne Devolution Deal and elected mayor were announced, many of the opinion-formers in the business world, media and PR sector, and upper echelons of the public sector in our region were keen to hail the news as "transformational" for the North of Tyne. A reasonable observer might feel that a little time may be needed to get up and running and put its plans into action. Yet a year on from the election of Mayor Driscoll, it is difficult to see much sign of the promised transformation, and few in the region can point to many substantial achievements to date. This week's launch of a "staged economic recovery plan" by the North East Covid-19 Economic Response Group - the mayor and colleagues on the North of Tyne and North East Combined Authorities and the North East Local Economic Partnership - has at last given the Mayor's communications team something to communicate. Reading through its 12 pages, I am struck by the lack of specific actions, targets, and outcomes. Much of it consists of "asks
South Lakes MP Tim Farron and Cumbria Tourism are calling on local residents to help send a clear message to the Government to give more support to hospitality and tourism businesses through the COVID-19 crisis.
Yet another poorly worded and inaccurate article in the #WiltshireTimes yesterday requiring a complaint and redaction.
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!”
