Local MP Tim Farron is dismayed by the results of last night's no confidence vote in the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. Mr. Johnson won the vote last night with 211 Conservative MPs voting for the Prime Minister and 148 against. With 41% of his MPs voting with no confidence in Boris Johnso,n he retained his position as leader of the Conservative party by a smaller margin than Theresa May in her 2018 confidence vote.
Yesterday, Monday June 6th, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Grasmere and Ambleside, Will Clark, started the 'Make Votes Matter' walk from Grasmere to campaign for voting reform. The campaign aims to raise attention to the inadequacy of the First Past the Post system and campaigns for electoral reform to proportional representation.
Local MP Tim Farron has called on second homeowners to consider donating the extra cash they have gained from the £400 cut to energy bills announced last week.
Local MP Tim Farron has called for more respect and support to be given to UK farmers in the House of Commons debate on recruitment in agriculture last week. He discussed the government's slashing of support to both experienced farmers and young people trying to join the industry: "If we enjoy the benefits of eating food, if we enjoy the environment, if we think tackling climate change is important, and if we think water management and flood prevention or tourism and hospitality are important, then we should be very grateful to our farmers and those who work in agriculture.
On the floor of the House of Commons last week, South Lakes MP Tim Farron demanded the government take real action to tackle the cost-of-living crisis across all sectors, discussing the knock-on effect of the crisis on housing, care staff, and fuel.
Bedford Borough Council has updated its Rail Strategy to take account of recent developments within the rail sector. The strategy outlines Mayor Dave's four priorities in order to deliver long-term sustainable growth and rail infrastructure for residents in Bedford Borough.
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!”
