In the news articles

Tube cash payments: the voice of vulnerable passengers has been heard

Caroline Pidgeon has welcomed Transport for London's cancellation of its plans to make the Tube cash-free.

Caroline told the Evening Standard:

“This is a welcome announcement. For a long time TfL’s strategy was to remove by stealth the ability to use cash at its station ticket machines.

“The decisions it made last year on removing cash payments were based on zero consultation with passengers and little real evidence of passenger or staff safety.

Questions have to be asked as to why so many crimes go completely uninvestigated

Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon has uncovered the disappointing fact that nearly 250,000 crimes reported to the Metropolitan Police last year were abandoned within 24 hours, without being investigated at all.

Caroline has written to Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick to ask for an explanation for the stark difference between the figures for 2020 compared to 2019.

Caroline said:

London's transport needs Government support – but the Mayor must cancel the Silvertown Tunnel

On 18th March, Caroline talked to BBC Radio London about the financial challenges facing London's transport system.

Caroline said:

Just like other world cities, the Government must support Transport for London after the previous Mayor agreed away its subsidy.

Sarah Everard – a time for women to speak and men to listen

Writing for Liberal Democrat Voice following the tragic murder of Sarah Everard, Caroline Pidgeon discusses what needs to be done to approach the epidemic of violence against women.

"What has come from Sarah’s tragic murder is a bubbling over of anger and resentment from women to a society that perpetuates violence against them and a desire to take hold of the discourse on this issue from men so we can see real change.

"Women will not be silenced."

Read Caroline's full article here.

The surge in catalytic converter thefts must be tackled

The dramatic rise in the theft of car catalytic converters has been revealed by detailed figures obtained by Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon.

Despite many crimes falling during lockdown, the theft of car catalytic converters has soared across London between 2019 and 2020, with increases in 27 of the 32 London boroughs covered by the Metropolitan Police. The borough with the highest number of thefts was Barnet, seeing 1114 thefts in 2020 – more than three thefts a day.

Government and the Mayor must address Covid’s impacts on London’s women

Writing for the OnLondon website, Caroline Pidgeon describes the deep economic impact that the pandemic has had on women in London, how it has set back progress on equality, and the need for action from the Government and the Mayor.

We need to be incentivising companies in London to tackle gender inequality in the workplace as we recover from Covid-19. Lib Dem mayoral candidate Luisa Porritt was a champion for gender pay equality as an MEP and would champion the cause from City Hall too as the capital’s first female Mayor.

No excuse for a slow train approach to passenger safety

Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, commenting on the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) investigation report into the fatality at Eden Park train station on the 26 February 2020, where a blind man suffered fatal injuries after falling from the edge of a platform without tactile paving, said:

“In 2021 it is staggering that one third of platforms around the country lack tactile paving, a basic safety measure, simply because it is only installed when there are major station renovations.

We need an urgent return to real community policing in London

Writing for Inside Croydon, Caroline Pidgeon AM discusses the issues that have caused the public in London to lose confidence in the Metropolitan Police.

Caroline concludes:

The issues facing the Met are varied and complex, but radical action is needed to tackle the drop in confidence the Met has seen. We need to re-open and replace the police front counters lost in recent years, as well as finding new ways to encourage engagement between communities and the police.

Pages

Subscribe to In the news articles