Teaching staff should be prioritised for vaccine, MP tells ministers
In Parliament last night, South Lakes MP Tim Farron urged ministers to include teaching staff in the priority lists for the COVID-19 vaccines.
7 Jan 2021
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Sunderland Lib Dems slam exaggerated Tory Northumbria Police funding claims as ‘smoke and mirrors’
Wearside's Liberal Democrats have attacked Conservative boasts about police funding as "smoke and mirrors" that dress up a potential Council Tax rise as if it were extra funding from the Government.
MB
7 Jan 2021
PRESS RELEASE: "Teachers must be vaccinated to protect them against coronavirus," say Lib Dems
The Liberal Democrats have called for teachers to be vaccinated against coronavirus after the government admitted schools were the epicentre of high community transmission. Daisy Cooper, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education, has written a letter to Gavin Williamson and Matt Hancock to ask them to vaccinate teachers as part of category seven. This would make them a top priority after everyone working in the NHS and social care and those most at risk by virtue of their age, being clinically vulnerable or having an underlying health condition. It comes as the Secretary of State for Education announced that teachers' estimated grades will replace GCSE and A-level results. Responding to the letter Zöe Franklin, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Guildford and Cranleigh, said: "Day after day teachers and school staff have put themselves at enormous risk during this pandemic in order to keep schools open. "Now that the Prime Minister has finally admitted that schools are at the epicentre of high community Covi
7 Jan 2021
Covid-19 GP Vaccination Centres Confirmed [Updated]
Folkestone Civic Centre has been confirmed as the Covid-19 Vaccination Centre for Folkestone and Sandgate's The New Surgery,...
7 Jan 2021
Disappointment as Sainsbury’s Northgate Street store set to close at the end of January
Liberal Democrat campaigners' Dr Rebecca Trimnell and Councillor Jeremy Hilton have been told by Sainsbury's that their Northgate Street store is set to close on January 30. The news comes after a petition of nearly 700 signatures was raised opposing the stores closure after 50 years of trading. Councillor Hilton said: "This is very disappointing news. Loads of people living in Kingsholm and the city centre enjoyed shopping here. I remember working at the store as a teenager when it first opened and I have been a regular customer ever since." Dr Rebecca Trimnell confirmed that both she and Councillor Hilton met a senior representative Sainsbury to lobby on behalf of the petitioners. "We did have a constructive meeting with Sainsbury's and some of our suggestions were considered further, but back in December we received confirmation that sadly the store will close," Dr Trimnell said. "This week they have told us the store is mostly likely to close on January 30. It really does feel like the end of an era." Cou
7 Jan 2021
Lib Dems slam exaggerated Tory boasts on Derbyshire police funding as ‘smoke and mirrors’
Erewash Liberal Democrats have attacked local Conservative boasts about police funding as "smoke and mirrors" that dress up a potential Council Tax rise as if it were extra funding from the Government.
7 Jan 2021
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!”
