recent blog articles

Campaigning in Oldham East and Saddleworth

The Liberal Democrat Group on the London Assembly - Caroline Pidgeon, Dee Doocey and Mike Tuffrey - went up to Oldham on Saturday 8th January to help out in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election.

The team spent the day knocking doors and talking to local residents in villages in the constituency, as well as enjoying a country pub lunch!

“It was super to be able to go up to Oldham East and Saddleworth as a Group. Elwyn Watkins has clearly worked really hard with the local team and is really well known in the constituency. I hope voters will support Elwyn to be their next MP” commented Caroline.

11 January 2011 - 9:21pm

Visiting Bank to investigate overcrowding issues

Caroline Pidgeon AM visited Bank station on Thursday 6th January to meet with Howard Collins and other senior staff from London Underground to look at issues with dealing with rush hour at the station. Caroline was caught up in an emergency evacuation from Bank station at rush hour in the autumn of 2010 and experienced some serious issues with a lack of signage and confusion created by such an evacuation.

11 January 2011 - 8:39pm

Tube and train passengers ripped off by missing Oyster barriers

The Evening Standard has a front-page story today highlighting the £67m that train and tube passengers will pay this year from inadvertently failing to "touch out" their Oyster cards because ticket barriers are left open or do not exist.

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem leader on the London Assembly, told the Evening Standard:

TfL and the train companies are simply profiting from passengers, in addition to hiking fares.

Finger-pointing helps no one. They need to be looking at what changes are needed to minimise the chances of these penalties, for example by installing more barriers at stations.

You can read the full article here.

You can also see coverage of the issue on the BBC website, in the Independent, in the East London Advertiser and in the News Shopper.

7 January 2011 - 10:39pm

Out and about in Haverstock Hill

Caroline Pidgeon AM went on a walkabout with local resident Lynn Whiting to look at various transport issues in the Haverstock Hill area just before Christmas.

Issues discussed included the potential expansion of the cycle hire scheme to the area and how small changes could be made to the area, also known as Steele’s Village, to ensure local traders can continue in business and that the area is thriving again.

“It was wonderful to meet some shopkeepers and to talk to local resident Lynn about plans to transform the area for residents and traders. I will continue to work with Lynn and local Lib Dem Councillors” commented Caroline.

1 January 2011 - 12:16pm

Another year, another painful fare package from Boris Johnson

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on Transport for London’s fare package for Tubes, buses and TfL Overground Rail services being introduced on January 2nd, said:

“For the third year in a row the Mayor of London is racking up fares well ahead of the rate of inflation. Another year, another painful fare package from Boris Johnson.

31 December 2010 - 4:10pm

Welcoming Dee Doocey to the House of Lords

Lib Dem London Assembly members Caroline Pidgeon and Mike Tuffrey joined their colleague, Assembly Chair Dee Doocey, for her introduction into the House of Lords.

Caroline Pidgeon said:
"Many congratulations to Dee for her appointment to the House of Lords. The House of Lords will benefit from all the experience Dee can bring to it. She has huge knowledge and a superb set of skills that make her an excellent choice to represent the Liberal Democrats on the red benches. Dee has a strong and diverse background in the private sector and local government, including her many years of service on the London Assembly. Dee will be a strong voice for Londoners in parliament, as she is on the Assembly."

23 December 2010 - 11:41pm

Site visit highlights A243 problems for Chessington residents

Caroline Pidgeon AM joined Lib Dem Cllr Tricia Bamford and officers from Transport for London and Kingston Council on Tuesday 14th December to have a look at a number of issues on the A243 and the impact they are having on local residents.

Caroline, Tricia and the officers walked along the A243 looking at a number of serious problems, including:

  • The need for pedestrian phases on the A243 by Merritt Gardens to help the local schools and health centre, as well as by the Hook Centre further down.
  • The need for more signage and road markings at the Bridge Road roundabout (pictured) where traffic congestion is increasing and there are problems with vehicles not getting into the correct lane.
  • The future plans for the Malden Rushett junction which have been drawn up and consulted on, but will need to be phased in over a number of years due to funding issues.
19 December 2010 - 6:29pm

Mayor's pet cable car project may suck in public money

The BBC reports that a planned cable car across the Thames from Docklands to North Greenwich may not be ready in time for the Olympics - and that the Mayor is now requesting public funding for it.

Caroline Pidgeon commented:

A cable car crossing the Thames might well be a great idea, but the bottom line is that the mayor promised Londoners that it would be funded entirely from private finance and that has already turned out to not be the case.

The mayor now needs to give a clear account of why he rejected the views of the board of the London Development Agency and forced them to divert public funding into his pet project.

You can read the BBC's full story here.

The story has also been covered by the Evening Standard and the Docklands24 website.

17 December 2010 - 7:35pm

Red route parking must stay free

Writing to the Fulham & Hammersmith Chronicle, Caroline Pidgeon argues that the Mayor should abandon proposals to force drivers to pay for short-term parking on Red Routes:

The parking charges will raise little revenue for the mayor, but they will hit for six many small traders who are already facing hard times.

The last thing London needs is more empty shops along so many of its roads. Instead of killing off more small shops, we need to kill off this daft proposal from the mayor.

14 December 2010 - 11:02pm

Common sense at long last on tube upgrades

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on today’s announcement that London Underground will now use temporary block closures where appropriate as opposed to evening and weekend closures over many months, if not years, to upgrade and improve the tube, said:

“This change of direction, starting with parts of the Circle and District Line next summer is very welcome indeed. This is a policy I have been advocating for the last two years so I am delighted that commonsense has at long last prevailed.

14 December 2010 - 10:59pm

Disabled people deserve the right to use Olympic lanes

An article in the Guardian discusses the "VIP" transport lanes which will be set up during the Olympics for use only by Olympic Committee members and sponsors - which the Olympic organisers have refused to open up to disabled Blue Badge holders.

Quoted in the article, Caroline comments: "It is appalling that the ODA have ruled out such a modest proposal.

10 December 2010 - 10:56pm

Assembly opposes grassroots sports funding cuts

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem leader on the London Assembly, has joined with other assembly members across parties in calling on the government to rule out damaging cuts to grassroots sports funding in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.

In a motion agreed on 8th December, the Assembly warned of the danger of cutting the funding of the Schools Sports Partnership in London, emphasised the value of continuing investing in grassroots sports facilities, and asked the Mayor to join in lobbying the government to ensure this funding is preserved.

Caroline Pidgeon AM, who seconded the motion, said:

10 December 2010 - 10:14pm

Report on runaway train raises further questions

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on Transport for London’s report into the ‘runaway train’ on the London Underground on Friday 13th August said:

“One of the most disturbing findings from this report is that far from this being an isolated incident there have actually been 12 similar cases since 1996.

“It is absolutely vital that the recommendations from this report are implemented as quickly as possible.

10 December 2010 - 10:10pm

Crossing the road should be an equal entitlement for every Londoner

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, speaking ahead of tomorrow’s (Friday 3rd December) International Day of Disabled People has called on the Mayor of London to make a firm commitment to ensure that every pedestrian crossing in London is accessible for disabled people.

5 December 2010 - 9:06pm

Why are Southeastern repeating the same mistakes again?

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the widespread failure of Southeastern to provide accurate information to its passengers over the last two days of snowfall, including many of its information boards at its stations not even working, said:

“Back in January during the two days of snow Southeastern passengers faced a double whammy of a much reduced train service combined with an appalling lack of useful information being provided by the train company.

5 December 2010 - 8:51pm

Caroline presents awards for London Cycling Campaign

Caroline Pidgeon joined the London Cycling Campaign for their 2010 AGM in November. Caroline spoke in a question and answer session, and also presented awards for some of the best cycling initiatives across London.

Photo: Caroline presents the Streets Of Growth project team with their award for the best cycling project for young people.

5 December 2010 - 8:46pm

Bill for Central and Hammersmith & City replacement buses nears £1m

Shepherd's Bush blogger Chris Underwood reports on Caroline Pidgeon's questioning of the Mayor, which revealed that £927,000 has been spent so far in 2010 on replacement buses to cover the closure of the Central and Hammersmith & City Lines.

Chris also points out Caroline's work in revealing the Mayor's waste of £39m on a feasibility study for a lift in the new Shepherd's Bush station:

5 December 2010 - 8:37pm

Caroline joins Ealing Lib Dems for dinner and auction

Caroline Pidgeon AM was the guest speaker at Ealing Liberal Democrats auction and dinner evening near Ealing Broadway on Saturday 27th November.

“It was fantastic to see lots of Lib Dem members and our fantastic council group and to catch up on local issues and news. I look forward to working closely with the Ealing team to try to get some improvements to local bus routes and tube services” commented Caroline.

5 December 2010 - 8:28pm

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