Tag Archives: caroline pidgeon

London Liberal Democrats – helping those with the smallest pockets get to work

By Caroline Pidgeon | Published 17th January 2012 - 2:52 pm

Last week Brian Paddick and I launched a fairer fares package ahead of this year’s London Mayoral and Assembly elections.

Boris Johnson has been Mayor of London since 2008. In just four years he has increased the cheapest bus fare from 90p to £1.35 – and he had planned to raise fares even further until the Coalition Government stepped in and helped limit the rise. As well as bus fares, the cost of travelling on the Tube, the Docklands Light Railway, the Croydon Tramlink and the London Overground have all soared under Mr Johnson’s mayoralty.

Of course there …

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Posted in London, News | Also tagged , , | 10 Comments

London Lib Dems hit out at Boris’s fare hikes as “shameful”

By The Voice | Published 3rd January 2012 - 11:25 am

London Lib Dem mayoral candidate Brian Paddick and leader of the London Lib Dems Caroline Pidgeon have criticised Boris Johnson’s 7% price hike for public transport fares which came into force today. Here’s the party’s official statement:

Commenting on the Mayor’s 2012 fare rises being introduced today Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate said:

“Once again we start the year with another painful fare package from Boris Johnson. For the fourth year in a row he has racked up fares by far more than the rate of inflation.

“His latest rises will simply add to the financial problems

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , | 4 Comments

Questions left hanging over Boris’s cable car

By Nick Thornsby | Published 17th October 2011 - 9:58 am

Conservative politicians spend much of their time criticising their Labour counterparts for the often-inefficient way in which they spend public money. This is often quite justifiable: the many billions wasted through disastrous PFI schemes, abandoned IT projects and expensive-but-pointless gimmicks under Labour are a shameful legacy.

But the gap between this Tory rhetoric and reality is often rather stark, and nowhere is this more evident than with the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.

Take, for example, one of Boris’s pet projects of a cable car to transport people between the O2 arena and the Excel exhibition centre (both Olympic venues). Sounds like …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , | 5 Comments

Guide dogs allowed on London Underground escalators – Caroline Pidgeon campaign success

By Mark Pack | Published 3rd October 2011 - 8:50 am

Following a campaign by Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon, the legal ban on guide dogs travelling on the escalators on the London Underground is being lifted on Wednesday.

Transport for London and the Government are changing a by-law which originated in the era of wooden escalators which could expand and contract depending on heat and humidity. This meant larger gaps have to be left by default than on modern metal escalators, with resulting fears that guide dogs (now often called assistance dogs) might get their paws stuck …

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Posted in London | Also tagged | 2 Comments

A tale of two holes – and a £39m price tag

By Mark Pack | Published 7th September 2011 - 7:54 am

In principle, I have no objection to people digging holes in the ground. Even very expensive holes. Potholes? Bad. But lift shafts, underground tunnels and other such excavations? Good. A big hole that loops back on itself and could* end the universe? That’ll do nicely. The combination of a hole, Bernard Cribbins and Lego? Excellent.

If I had to postulate a general theory of holes, I’d say that a hole that is not used is a bad hole. And two holes that are not used are doubly bad.

Which brings me to the question of the £39 million spent …

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Posted in London | Also tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Brian Paddick selected as Liberal Democrats’ London Mayoral Candidate for 2012

By Helen Duffett | Published 2nd September 2011 - 7:27 pm

Jonathan Fryer, Chair of London Region Liberal Democrats emails party members in London with the news:

The count has just been completed in the ballot for the Liberal Democrat London Mayoral candidate for 2012.

The selection contest turned into a really close race, reflecting the excellent choice of candidates London members were presented with.

I would like to congratulate Brian Paddick warmly on his victory, and all of us at Team London look forward to working with him and our GLA candidates over the next eight months to ensure the best possible result in May.

Brian Paddick, Liberal Democrat Mayoral Candidate for 2012

…

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Posted in London, News | Also tagged , | 16 Comments

Mike Tuffrey writes… The Big Switch: turning London’s buses and taxis electric

By Mike Tuffrey AM | Published 25th July 2011 - 12:53 pm

Rudolf Diesel has a lot to answer for. The compression engine he invented has become the great workhorse of heavy duty vehicles like the buses, taxis and vans which fill our streets. But the nasty side effect of diesel fuel is fine particulate exhaust emissions that are creating a major health crisis. Tiny particles get deep into the lungs, causing thousands of premature deaths and a big increase in ill health.

The biggest culprit in central London, where the health problems are most acute? Yes, buses, taxis …

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Posted in London, Op-eds | Also tagged , | 12 Comments

Mike Tuffrey writes… My kinda campaign … working towards success in 2014

By Mike Tuffrey AM | Published 13th July 2011 - 11:53 am

Ol’ blue eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, used to sing about “My kinda town…” Rest assured, I won’t be singing. But let me tell you about London – my town – and the kind of campaign I intend to run as our candidate to be Mayor of London.

The test of success in the 2012 campaign isn’t just the number of votes we win in the Mayor contest – it is how many Assembly members we get elected and how many councillors, councils and MEPs we get elected in 2014.

Our very best London-wide campaigning in the past – such as that led …

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Posted in London, Op-eds | Also tagged , | 4 Comments

Brian Coleman tops lists of expense claims, again

By Mark Pack | Published 16th May 2011 - 7:24 am

Conservative London Assembly member Brian Coleman has often been in the news over the years for his expense claims (not to mention his attempt to ban questions of himself), so I hesitate slightly to says it is “news” that new figures from the London Fire Brigade show him topping the list of expense claims:

Assembly Member
Brian Coleman April 2010 to March 2011 £3,480.20
Darren Johnson April 2010 to March 2011 £0.00
Gareth Bacon April 2010 to March 2011 £0.00
Mike Tuffrey April 2010 to March 2011 £0.00
Murad Qureshi April 2010

…

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Posted in London, Opposition watch | Also tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Unpaid Congestion Charge fees and fines by embassies set to break £50m barrier

By Mark Pack | Published 4th February 2011 - 1:55 pm

As of yesterday, the total in unpaid Congestion Charges and penalties run by embassies in London was £49.4m and at the current rate of growth that figure will break the £50m barrier later this month.

Liberal Democrat London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon has said, “The amount in unpaid Congestion Charges and Penalty Charge Notices owed by embassies is now so large that it could pay for more than 260 new buses on London’s streets, or fund the significant expansion of the cycle hire scheme, or alternatively reduce fare rises.”

Or, as she didn’t say, £50m could pay for one Fernando Torres.

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Posted in London, News | Also tagged | 8 Comments

Transport for London offers up more data for free

By Mark Pack | Published 19th December 2010 - 9:55 am

Over the summer we reported the welcome news that Transport for London was making more of its data available for others to reuse:

It’s a smart move because it means the emphasis on working out how to make best use of the data shifts from TfL to the wider commercial sector. That means people can experiment (and fail) in a way that is much harder when politicians, media (and yes, bloggers) are looking over your shoulder waiting to shout “Waste of public money!” if an idea doesn’t pan out. It also means that Transport for London can concentrate on what it is (or should be) good at – running transport services, whilst letting those who are good at developing data services and marrying up different commercial ideas can do what they’re good at.

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Posted in London | Also tagged | 6 Comments

Result: GLA Londonwide list selection

By Helen Duffett | Published 14th December 2010 - 3:12 pm

London Liberal Democrats have today announced their team of candidates for the London Assembly top-up list in 2012. Caroline Pidgeon AM topped the poll of London Liberal Democrat members to lead the London Assembly campaign in 2012.

The list is as follows:

  1. Caroline Pidgeon
  2. Stephen Knight
  3. Bridget Fox
  4. Shas Sheehan
  5. Jeremy Ambache
  6. Merlene Emerson
  7. Emily Davey
  8. Steve Bradley
  9. Marisha Ray
  10. Nick Russell
  11. Ajmal Masroor

Turnout was 55.6%.

Liberal Democrat MP for Carshalton and Wallington and London Spokesperson Tom Brake said:

The Liberal Democrats have a proud record on the London Assembly of holding the Mayor to account. Our Assembly members have led the fight for better value for money from City Hall, better transport services

…

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Posted in London | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

LDV survey: who Lib Dem members want to be the party’s candidate for Mayor of London

By Stephen Tall | Published 22nd September 2010 - 9:45 am

Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of the early race for the party presidency, the London mayoral selection, Trident, and the Labour leadership. Over 400 party members have responded, and we’re currently publishing the full results.

LDV asked: The following names have been suggested as possible contenders to take on Boris Johnson for the elected position of Mayor of London. Who would you like to see stand as the Lib Dem candidate for Mayor of London?

  • 12% – Lembit Opik
  • 11% – Brian Paddick
  • 15% –

…

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Posted in LDV Members poll | Also tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

What Lib Dems are saying (or not) about Andy Coulson

By Stephen Tall | Published 6th September 2010 - 7:00 pm

The official Lib Dem line on Andy Coulson, David Cameron’s director of communications, could not have been clearer prior to the election: this Voice headline from July 2009 gives the flavour – Huhne on Coulson: “either complicit or incompetent”.

Yet the party leadership has been noticeably more reticent to comment on the most recent allegations, triggered by the New York Times’s typically thorough investigation.

(What does it say, by the way, about the quality of the British news media today that — with the honourable exception of The Guardian — it was left to a US newspaper to …

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Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , , , | 33 Comments

Peddling myths over London’s bike hire scheme

By Caroline Pidgeon | Published 14th August 2010 - 11:50 am

In London one of the most exciting developments this year has been the long awaited launch of the bike hire scheme.

Despite its launch being associated with quite a number of problems – including a highly complex registration process, and a number of cyclists being overcharged – no one can deny that the scheme is proving incredibly popular.  And let’s be realistic, no major scheme ever starts without at least some minor teething problems. Of course I will be chasing hard until these glitches are resolved, and they certainly …

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Posted in Local government, London | Also tagged , , | 9 Comments