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Bexley + London-wide stories

Caroline joins Lib Dems from across London and the UK at Pride 2010

19 July 2010 - 9:21pm — Administrator

Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the London Assembly Lib Dems, joined senior Lib Dems including Lynne Featherstone MP, Sarah Ludford MEP, and party president Ros Scott, at the Pride London 2010 event on Saturday 3rd July - the UK's largest annual LGBT event.

Both the Tube and Crossrail are essential for London

18 May 2009 - 9:31pm — Administrator

On Friday 15th May, Caroline attended an event to witness the start of the construction of Crossrail with the Mayor of London and Prime Minister.

When it is completed in 2017, Crossrail will go from Maidenhead in the West through to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the East, taking in Heathrow, Paddington, Farringdon and Stratford in between. (You can see a map of the route here.)

Caroline campaigns for Grace Goodlad in East Wickham

11 January 2009 - 11:53pm — Administrator

Caroline Pidgeon AM joined Liberal Democrat campaigners in East Wickham Ward in Bexley on Sunday 11th January, to support Grace Goodlad’s by-election campaign to become the new councillor for the area on 22nd January.

“Lots of really important issues came up on the doorstep from protecting local open spaces to tackling crime” said Caroline. “Many residents are concerned about the cost of council tax and the recent hike in fares on trains and buses. I hope local residents will back Grace Goodlad for a strong voice for East Wickham”.

Campaigning with Oliver Brooks in Christchurch

1 July 2008 - 9:56pm — Administrator

Caroline spent a sunny Saturday 28th June helping Oliver Brooks, candidate in the Christchurch ward by-election in Bexley. Oliver is a young and energetic candidate who has lived all his life in Bexley. The by-election follows the resignation of Ian Clements – one of the key advisors to the new Mayor, Boris Johnson.

Poorest children in London must not be penalised by new Oyster fees

25 July 2010 - 6:56pm — Administrator

Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Leader and transport spokesperson, commenting on the Mayor’s plans to introduce a one-off £10 fee for Zip Card concessionary travel for children, teenagers and students, said:

”I understand that TfL have to look at cost savings but any change needs to be fair. Given that two fifths of children across London live in poverty TfL should exempt this charge to children and young people who are entitled to free school meals."

The MayorWatch website covers the story here.

Are plans to get Londoners walking on the right track?

25 July 2010 - 6:25pm — Administrator

The Mayor has declared his intention to make 2011 the ‘year of walking’ and allocated millions of pounds to the cause, but will his proposals see more Londoners making their journeys on foot?

Caroline Pidgeon AM will lead an investigation on behalf of the Assembly’s Transport Committee to assess the effectiveness of current plans to get people walking and look at what more could be done.

Almost a quarter of all journeys in the capital are made on foot – nearly 6 million trips every day – making up nearly a third of the total time Londoners spend travelling. The Mayor’s Transport Strategy states that he wants to see the share of all journeys made on foot increase to 25 per cent by 2031 – an extra million journeys a day.

To help meet this target, the Mayor and Transport for London have allocated over £200 million over the next three years to ‘Better Streets’ - which includes schemes ranging from de-cluttering streets to pedestrianisation - and ‘Better Green and Water Spaces’ to improve access to London’s parks, rivers and canals.

Caroline Pidgeon AM said:
“The Mayor wants 2011 to be the ‘year of walking’ but to encourage more Londoners to make their journeys on foot he will have to carefully tailor his proposals and investment.

Mayor's cuts to Tube ticket offices - "an absolute sham of a consultation"

19 July 2010 - 10:34pm — Administrator

Caroline Pidgeon, commenting to the Evening Standard, has sharply criticised the Mayor's plans to drastically reduce ticket office services at Tube stations, costing up to 450 jobs and leaving many stations with ticket office staffing for most of the day.

Caroline said:

The Mayor was elected on a clear commitment to keep ticket offices open. His plans to have many closed for most of the day flies in the face of his election commitment. This is an absolute sham of a consultation. If the Mayor really thinks he is consulting Londoners he obviously needs to look up what the word actually means in the dictionary.

You can read the full story at the Evening Standard here.

Conservatives try to silence criticism of Mayor's ticket office cuts

17 July 2010 - 12:46pm — Administrator

Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat group leader in the London Assembly, has criticised Conservative Assembly members for staging a walkout from the Assembly in order to prevent a vote against heavy cuts in ticket office services at London Underground stations.

Caroline chairs World Sickle Cell Day event

10 July 2010 - 4:23pm — Administrator

Caroline Pidgeon AM chaired a special Sickle Cell Society event to celebrate World Sickle Cell Day on Friday 18th June.

Held near Westminster, the event had a number of superb speakers talking about the development of awareness of Sickle Cell and services for those with the condition, as well as hearing about the work of the Sickle Cell Society.

“I was honoured to be able to help out by chairing this important event. The work of the Sickle Cell Society is very important in raising awareness of this condition that affects many Londoners” added Caroline.

Photo: Caroline Pidgeon AM with Dr Philip Nortey and other members of the Sickle Cell Society at the celebrations

Dial-A-Ride service is still inconsistent and unreliable

2 July 2010 - 9:11pm — Administrator

As the London Assembly's Transport Committee publishes its report on the shortcomings of TfL's Dial-A-Ride service for people with disabilities, the committee's deputy chair, Caroline Pidgeon AM, has commented:
"It cannot be right that Dial-a-Ride is providing fewer journeys than it did eight years ago but is spending 70 per cent more on the service.

"The improvements to some aspects of the service are welcome, but it’s disappointing that people are still experiencing some of the same old problems with the booking system.

"People rely on Dial-a-Ride and are entitled to expect a consistent and reliable service. I urge Transport for London to take the necessary steps to make this a reality."