Wiltshire businesses and members of the public have shown their support for Wiltshire Police and Wiltshire Council after a call went out to help support local efforts in tackling COVID-19.
This Wednesday April 15th 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Concentration Camp Bergen-Belsen in 1945. I...
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Comment from Linda Johnson I posted an article by John Vidal out on my Facebook page back in March, which linked Covid-19 and Climate Change and was immediately met with a barrage of abuse, including criticism from some Liberal Democrats (incredibly) who said that climate change and Covid-19 should not be linked.
My new role for the Green Lib Dems is Vice Chair Communications. I am very happy with this role as it fits in well with my other roles and experiences. I am currently Group Leader on Trafford Metropolitan Council for the Liberal Democrats, an experienced health worker and former MEP for the North West of England.
I am delighted to have been appointed your Vice Chair Organisation - VCO. This is my first role on the GLD Exec. I am Parliamentary Spokesperson for the Rushcliffe constituency in Nottinghamshire, having been the Lib Dem Candidate in the 2019 general election. I am the Membership Development Officer for the Rushcliffe local party, a member of the East Midlands Lib Dem Exec and one of the East Mids reps on the English Council. I am taking up the role of VCO comes at an extraordinary time for the country, the Green Lib Dems and the Lib Dems generally. Lockdown due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus will, inevitably, provide challenges - and opportunities for new working. Given Social Distancing measures, our annual GLD conference in Nottingham will have to be revised… Online meetings will have to become the norm, for the foreseeable future. The GLD Exec have already had one meeting using the Zoom platform and will be looking into alternatives as well, to find the best platform solution to allow us to wo
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!”
