St Ives - Marginal fight for Lib Dems

Andrew George, MP for St Ives from 1997 to 2015 is looking for a tiny swing on Thursday to win the seat back from the Tories. Just 313 extra votes would do the trick. As well as the need to cut the chances of a tory majority in Parliament, it may be the Environmental issue that could make the difference. Friends of the Earth recently scored the party manifestoes for their capacity to fight the Climate catastrophe and Lib Dems scored 30 points against a paltry 5.5 points for the Conservative policy platform. Judging by the cheery faces of some of his supporters above, the chances look pretty good!

Is this why Boris Johnson avoided the Leaders' Climate Debate?

By Professor Keith Barnham

In the first six months of the 2015 conservative government, published a paper in Nature Materials with colleagues from Germany and Italy showing that, had the subsidy policies of previous governments been continued by the new administration, the UK could have had an all-renewable electric power supply by 2025. This would have been secure 24/7, 52 weeks of the year and UK carbon emissions would have fallen dramatically. Sadly, the new government ensured this would not happen by cutting subsidies and other measures. With climate change comparable with Brexit as a major concern, particularly among young voters, a thorough discussion of the conservative record on energy policy should have been an appropriate feature of this election. This has not happened, mainly thanks to Boris Johnson's decision to avoid the Leaders' Climate Debate.

The Liberal Democrats have set out ambitious £100 billion spending plans to tackle the climate emergency, including generating 80% of our electricity from renewables and retrofitting all homes by 2030. Launching their 'Our Plan to Tackle the Climate Emergency', the party's Climate Emergency spokesperson Wera Hobhouse declared that "the climate emergency is upon us and we need to take radical action now." The plan includes the full costings of how the Liberal Democrats would spend £100 billion tackling the climate emergency and details on how they would cut greenhouse gases in every sector of the economy to achieve net-zero. Plans in the Liberal Democrat's 'Our Plan to Tackle the Climate Emergency' include: Generating 80% of our electricity from renewables by 2030. Retrofitting all homes - cutting energy bills - and targeting those in fuel poverty first by 2025. Planting 60 million trees a year to increase UK forest cover. Ensuring all new cars sold are electric by 2030. Banning all non-essential non-recyclable single-use plastic within three years. Commenting on the Liberal Democrats' 'Our Plan for Tackling the Climate Emergency', Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for the Climate Emergency Wera Hobhouse said: "The climate emergency is real. It's upon us and we need to take radical action now. Our children will never forgive us if we allow the climate crisis to rob them of their future. The Liberal Democrats have a fully-costed, bold plan to protect our planet now and for generations to come. "Neither Labour nor the Tories have a real plan for the climate emergency. Their desire for Brexit means we would have less money to invest in this crisis. Brexit would leave us out in the cold internationally and unable to work cooperatively with our European partners on this global issue. "Young people and children across the world have been crying out for politicians to take action on the climate crisis. The Liberal Democrats are listening and will make real change happen. We will build a world with clean air, clean waters, and where wildlife can flourish. "Only the Liberal Democrats have a realistic but radical plan to achieve net-zero carbon emission by 2045. A Liberal Democrat government will generate 80% of our electricity from renewables by 2030, plant 60 million trees a year and invest £100 billion in tackling the climate emergency to build a brighter future for our planet."

Responding to an Amnesty International survey showing that young people view climate change as one of the most important issues facing the world, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary for Climate Emergency, Wera Hobhouse said: "Gen Z have been shouting it in the streets: the climate emergency is one of the most important issues we have ever faced. It's real and we have to act now. "Young people shouldn't have to strike from school to get the Tories to listen to their concerns. The Conservatives are climate delayers and are complacent in the face of a crisis. The Liberal Democrats are listening. We have a credible plan to tackle the climate emergency. We will spend £100 billion pounds to generate 80% of our electricity from renewables by 2030, retrofit all homes by 2025, and planting 60 million trees a year to increase UK forest cover. "The Liberal Democrats will make tackling the climate emergency an absolute priority. We have to act now to build a brighter future for our planet."

Cycling - a personal response to the Climate catastrophe

Olly Glover is our Liberal Democrat candidate in the previously safe Labour seat of Tooting in south London once held by Sadiq Khan. A daily cyclist and campaigner, Olly is determined to counter the current inertia over sustainable transport choices. He feels inspirational leaders are needed to tackle our climate emergency and air pollution challenges, which will not be solved without the efforts of us all.

Working for the local community

Former Leader of the Liberal Democrats and defending his seat of Westmorland and Lonsdale, Tim Farron is today`s Green Hero. He was first elected to the constituency in 2005 with a very narrow majority of only 257 votes; and is a dedicated local member of parliament with a strong sense of community - one of the pre-requisites for an environmentally oriented parliamentarian.

Time for a change

Councillor Tim Styles is the Liberal Democrat candidate for the constituency of St Austell and Newquay which, since its creation in 2010, has alternated between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Currently Conservative... so, time for a change!

Tim moved to the constituency at the age of nine and attended schools in both St Austell and Newquay. He has not been a career politician and only joined the party in 2016, after the referendum. Tim was elected as a councillor for Gover Ward in St Austell in 2017. Following a successful year as Deputy Mayor in 2018, he is currently the Mayor of St Austell.

Former Mayor of Dawlish in Parliamentary bid

Councillor Martin Wrigley has worked in the hi-tech industry for over 30 years, with a background in engineering and senior management. Growing up in a Navy family, Martin lived all over the world. Twenty years ago, he and his young family chose to settle in Teignbridge. A former Mayor of Dawlish, Martin is currently a Town and District Councillor.

Environmental Consultant seeking election!

Councillor Adam Boyden works in an environmental consultancy, assessing the implications of major development projects, so he is very well qualified to become a Green Champion in Parliament for Somerton and Frome. He is hoping to win back the seat formerly held by David Heath. Adam was a Cabinet Assistant for climate change on Mendip District Council from May until the election was called and he had to step away. Liberal Democrats are the largest party on Mendip District Council since the local elections in May 2019.

Green Energy

Kamran Hussain is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Leeds North West and he has called for a more urgent move towards renewable energy in response to the Climate Emergency we all face.

"We, the Liberal Democrats have always championed green energy and in government, we oversaw the
trebling of renewable electricity generation. But the Conservatives have repeatedly cut support for
green energy producers, damaging the environment and costing British jobs.