Green Hero - Wera Hobhouse MP

Wera Hobhouse is the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, elected with a 5,694 majority in 2017, and will be looking forward to an extended majority on 12th December as her greenest Christmas present for 2019!

Wera is the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Environment and Climate Change. At the party`s autumn conference in Bournemouth, Wera gave the keynote speech on tackling the climate crisis. The associated resolution passed with flying colours and has become our policy position for this general election.

(Manifesto on Climate crisis here >>> https://greenlibdems.org.uk/en/article/2019/1338748/environment-front-and-centre-in-the-manifesto)

Wera cut her environmental teeth challenging a housing development on an asbestos-contaminated site (Spodden Valley asbestos controversy) when she and her husband were Conservative Councillors in Rochdale - and it was this fight that persuaded them to become Liberal Democrats in 2005. Wera then became Cabinet Member for the Environment on Rochdale Council between 2006 and 2009 and chaired the Health Scrutiny committee from 2009 to 2010.

The Hobhouses then moved to Bath and Wera was elected to parliament in 2017, regaining the Bath constituency for the Liberal Democrats. As MP for Bath Wera introduced a Private Members' Bill to amend the Sexual Offences Act 2003; her bill aimed to outlaw acts of voyeurism, especially upskirting, which were not then explicitly covered by UK law. This bill, though supported by Theresa May, was talked out of time by Conservative MP Christopher Chope - subsequently reintroduced by the government and passed in July 2018.

NewsStop Brexit

Wera believes that our environmental protection is stronger with the UK in European Union and is committed to stopping Brexit

"Outside of the EU, you have the problem of having to continue to negotiate with the EU all the time,
you will have to continue to talk to them. Even a no-deal Brexit will not make the EU go away.
Its a fallacy to think that Brexit will be over in a no deal scenario."

Wera is also passionate about the necessity of acting quickly to reduce carbon emissions as a way of tackling the Climate Emergency and has argued strongly the importance of communicating to voters the need for urgent action.

"The whole of government and society must understand the need to get to net-zero
- everything we do should be seen in terms of that target."