MP secures meeting with minister about access to justice in the South Lakes
On the floor of the House of Commons this week, ministers agreed to meet with local MP Tim Farron to discuss restoring access to justice in the South Lakes.
11 Oct 2019
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
Brexit: MPs could hijack emergency Saturday sitting of Commons to force through second referendum
MPs to meet at weekend for first time in 37 years as massive anti-Brexit crowds gather outside Parliamentary supporters of a Final Say referendum could hijack an emergency sitting of the Commons on 19 October to force a public vote on any Brexit outcome.
AWPE
11 Oct 2019
Reuse is the Best Way to Recycle. After refurbishment ex-District Line trains now run between Bletchley and Bedford
Re-use is near the top of the Recycling Hierarchy and Vivarail has as its main objective the reuse of obsolete electric train units that used to run on London's District Line. The company was founded in 2012 with the aim of heavily overhauling London Underground D78 Stock and upcycling them into new BR Class 230 diesel-electric multiple units (DEMUs), and was the brainchild of Adrian Shooter, the now retired former chairman of DB Regio UK Ltd (better known in the UK as Chiltern Railways). Vivarail acquired over 200 units for this purpose.
11 Oct 2019
Reuse is the Best Way to Recycle. After refurbishment ex-District Line trains now run between Bletchley and Bedford
Re-use is near the top of the Recycling Hierarchy and Vivarail has as its main objective the reuse of obsolete electric train units that used to run on London's District Line. The company was founded in 2012 with the aim of heavily overhauling London Underground D78 Stock and upcycling them into new BR Class 230 diesel-electric multiple units (DEMUs), and was the brainchild of Adrian Shooter, the now retired former chairman of DB Regio UK Ltd (better known in the UK as Chiltern Railways). Vivarail acquired over 200 units for this purpose.
11 Oct 2019
Untimely death of Roy Bickerton
Roy was one of the oldest members of High Peak Libdems when he was sadly killed in a road accident in September, close to his home in New Mills. He was 86 and had been a Liberal/Libdem member for most of his adult life. He had been a New Mills Town councillor and a High Peak Borough Councillor where he gained the respect of all his colleagues from all parties as a sensible and hard-working man.
MWTHPLD
11 Oct 2019
Council Commercial Property Vacancy Rate has Halved in Just Three Years
Bedford Borough Council's commercial property vacancy rate has more than halved in just three years, a report has revealed. Figures included in a report to last night's Budget and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee show that the number of vacancies across the Council's Commercial property portfolio has plummeted from 15 in 2016 to just 6 in 2019.
11 Oct 2019
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!”
