Rosemarie and Nick Hollinghurst and Patrick Fisher from West Herts Local Party attended the hustings last night for the choice of the next Liberal Democrat Leader
Rosemarie and Nick Hollinghurst and Patrick Fisher from West Herts Local Party attended the hustings last night for the choice of the next Liberal Democrat Leader
The Liberal Democrat councillors at Essex County Council welcome the Conservative U-turn on the closure of libraries in Essex and the guarantee that all 74 libraries will remain open. The Lib Dems believe this victory is down to the local residents and interest groups across Essex campaigning to keep the libraries open. 60,000 residents expressed their anger by signing petitions and 22,000 responded to the consultation. The Lib Dems will be pushing for more information, for example the overall cost of the libraries consultation, to be made public. Cllr Anne Turrell, Deputy Leader of the Lib Dem Group and Cllr David Kendall, member of the Place Services and Economic Growth Policy and Scrutiny Committee assured residents that they will be looking at the fine detail of the Conservative library proposals, including clarity concerning the cuts and opening hours, at next week's Place Services and Economic Growth Policy and Scrutiny Committee.
The Lib Dem administration considers the problem of roadside littering in Mole Valley to be a critical issue that needs a comprehensive solution.
At the Council Meeting on Tuesday 9th July the Lib Dems supported the opposition motion to positively celebrate local diversity in Mole Valley. We made some amendments to ensure proper management and effective use of limited council resources and agreed to promote inclusion in all appropriate future communication.
Dear Sir,
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!”
