The EU has leapt ahead of the UK in the pursuit of free trade deals with Australia and New Zealand after member states gave the green light for talks to start within weeks.
Liberal Democrat County Councillors in Surrey have heavily criticised the Conservative-administration at County Hall after Conservative Councillors awarded themselves thousands of pounds of extra allowances in a vote at Council yesterday. The vote means that 4 new Deputy Cabinet positions will be created, at a cost of £40K a year, as well as extra allowances for committee vice-chairs. Liberal Democrat County Councillors opposed these increases and voted against them at County Hall.
Speaking ahead of the 30th anniversary of Section 28 which prevented schools from "promoting" homosexuality, Liberal Democrat Education spokesperson Layla Moran called on the Government to make Sex and Relationships Education fully LGBT+ inclusive.
Following pressure from a local resident and David Brown, Gloucestershire Highways (GH) scheduled the Green Lane resurfacing work to be completed by the end of June.
A district councillor in Kendal is set to propose a motion to South Lakeland Council calling on the Government to strip the rail company Northern of the Lakes Line. Councillor Matt Severn has asked for the motion to be tabled at the next full council meeting after 22 out of the 36 scheduled trains on the line yesterday were cancelled. Commuters who use the Lakes Line have been subjected to mass cancellations over recent months which has been especially problematic for students taking their GCSEs who use the train to get to school. Matt said: "The situation on the Lakes Line has been nothing short of shambolic for the past few months, but yesterday was the final straw. "People are being forced to miss hospital appointments, days at work and the situation has been even more unbearable for students who are taking their all-important GCSE exams at the moment. "How long does this horrendous ordeal have to go on for until the Government finally wake up and act?"
South Lakes MP Tim Farron has been elected the chair of the new All Party Parliamentary Group on radiotherapy. The new cross-party group held its first meeting today and agreed on its plan for radiotherapy. This will include pushing the Government to increase the funding for the treatment which currently stands at just 5% of the overall NHS cancer budget. It will also look at improving access, by lobbying the Government to make sure that no one has to travel more than 45 minutes to travel to their nearest radiotherapy unit. Currently 60% of people with cancer in the UK will need radiotherapy treatment. Tim said: "I'm delighted to be elected chair of the new all-party group on radiotherapy. "Cancer affects us all and radiotherapy is absolutely vital in helping us to combat it. "I will work hard to make sure that everyone has access to this life-saving treatment."
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!”
