18 Mar 2018
Wera Hobhouse MP urges government to incentivise solar power
29 Feb 2024
WORTHEN TO TAKE ON TRAFFIC MENACE
Residents in the villages of Worthen and Brockton in the west of the County are to enact a whole string of measures to try and curb speeding traffic and increase safety for residents. A meeting was organised by Heather with Shelve Parish Council to gather ideas and start to make things happen.
18 Mar 2018
Metro mayors add little to development of Greater Liverpool and Greater Manchester
The Leader of Liverpool's Liberal Democrats, Cllr Richard Kemp CBE, argued at the Party's North West Conference this Saturday that the Region's 2 Metro Mayors are adding nothing but cost and bureaucracy to the local government arrangements that existed before they were elected last year.
18 Mar 2018
City’s “almost 5,000” EU voters urged to “make voice heard” in May election
Plymouth Liberal Democrats are urging the city's "almost 5,000" EU residents to back the party in the elections to the city council in May. The election, on Thursday 3rd May, is the last scheduled set of elections before the planned date for Brexit, in March next year.
17 Mar 2018
Wera: Increase Youth Mental Health Funding
It's no secret that youth mental health services are chronically underfunded. Wera Hobhouse, former Lib Dem councillor in Rochdale and now MP for Bath, has tabled an Early Day Motion in Parliament to change that.
17 Mar 2018
Excellent news for growing the Liberal Democrat grassroots
Back when I wrote How to rebuild the Liberal Democrats, the sort-of sequel to the original core votes pamphlet which attempted to set out in detail what a core votes approach means for the party's organisation, I highlighted why the party should move to making its key tools and resources all available free at the point of use to party members:
MPAWTWAE
17 Mar 2018
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!”
