Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, commenting on the National Audit Office's inquiry report into the funding of the Garden Bridge, said:
"This report is clear evidence that the Department of Transport had its arm twisted into supporting the Garden Bridge by George Osbourne. From the very outset personal interests overcame serious concerns about value of money for the taxpayer.
Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, commenting on the Mayor’s announcement that he has appointed Dame Margaret Hodge to conduct a review into the Garden Bridge said:
“I welcome this latest review into the Garden Bridge which I hope will pick up from the excellent inquiry undertaken by the London Assembly. However the Mayor cannot hide behind this latest review as an excuse for not taking any action.
Caroline Pidgeon AM met with Lib Dem Cllr James Barber, and Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson for Dulwich and West Norwood Gail Kent on 9th September to look at issues for passengers at Denmark Hill.
Amongst the issues are the lack of gates on the gate line resulting in serious delays for passengers and the need for an additional ticket machine.
As the Southern Rail situation gets worse and worse for passengers, Caroline Pidgeon told the SWLondoner website that both management and unions have failed and a change in control is needed:
The dispute over conductor-free trains has reached a point where it does not matter what assurances Southern offer because the RMT union is now striking for the sake of it.
I am hugely concerned about the additional stress this is having on London.
You see the stress on passengers’ faces and it’s not good enough.
Speaking to the Guardian about the the five-month delay by the Garden Bridge Trust in publishing its accounts, Caroline Pidgeon said:
“I suspect that the Garden Bridge Trust is using administrative tidiness as a desperate excuse to postpone publishing their accounts.
Writing at the "Bridge Too Far" website, Caroline Pidgeon describes the compelling reasons to cancel the Garden Bridge project:
Caroline concludes:
It is regrettable that the last Mayor devoted so much of his time to lobbying and secretly fundraising for the Garden Bridge. There are so many other projects he could have backed which would have delivered real benefits for Londoners.
Caroline Pidgeon spoke at a campaign rally in Herne Hill to save our live music venues. Music iplays a huge role of our cultural scene in London. Music tourism alone generates more than £650 million per annum for the London economy, and more than 3.3 million tourists visited London in 2015 for music specifically. In fact, the O2 Arena in London sold more music tickets in 2014 than any other venue in the world.
Caroline Pidgeon came to Vauxhall to meet with local campaigners to look at the Our Vauxhall plans for the local bus interchange which is under threat of being closed. Our Vauxhall is a mixture of local residents, businesses and visitors in Vauxhall who have joined forces to campaign for a strategic Green Link that runs from Battersea Park to Vauxhall Spring Gardens.
Caroline Pidgeon met with local Lib Dem London Assembly candidate Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett and other Lib Dem campaigners in Vauxhall to discuss London transport issues and TfL. The team also looked at Lambeth Council’s plans for the area along with local community plans which will create a new open space.
Caroline Pidgeon joined community campaigners and the local Lib Dem London Assembly candidates for Lambeth and Southwark Michael Bukola, and for Merton and Wandsworth Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett to campaign against the proposed Garden Bridge development for the River Thames.