Coronavirus vaccinations
Mayor Dave Hodgson, in his monthly column for the Bedford Indpendent has written about Coronavirus vaccinations.
5 Jan 2021
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
PM has waited till the eleventh hour to act
Statement from Ed Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats:
4 Jan 2021
New National Lockdown
The following is the new guidanace from the Government website here Summary: what you can and cannot do during the national lockdown You must stay at home. The single most important action we can all take is to stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives.
4 Jan 2021
Leading on International Development
Green Liberal Democrat Motion to Spring Conference It was quite a shock to me to see the Chancellor`s decision, in the November budget a few weeks ago, to reduce the commitment to International Aid by 30% from the `magic` figure of 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI).
KM
4 Jan 2021
National Lockdown or Tier 5 by another name
England's coronavirus infection rates are spiralling and further restrictions are looking likely in the very near future. With prime minister Boris Johnson saying further measures are coming and health secretary Matt Hancock admitting the current tier system isn't working, it appears something will change soon. Around three-quarters of the country is already under tier four, the highest level of restrictions where household mixing is banned and non-essential shops are shut. But cases continue to rise rapidly and there have been suggestions for the past week that ministers are considering bringing in even tougher restrictions.
SE
4 Jan 2021
Countering right-wing media
Of late there has been a surge of r ight-wing media, twisting and distorting facts or even just blatantly lying, clearly hoping that the old adage attributed to Mark Twain "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes" still holds some weight.
EN
4 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!”
