We’re not so used to the Guardian saying nice things about Liberal Democrats these days, but Dave Hill is full of praise for the London Liberal Democrat Manifesto for the Mayoral and Assembly elections which was launched yesterday, calling it liberal, progressive and bold. This is what he has to say about policing and transport proposals:
Mayor Paddick would give each London neighbourhood its own “plan for policing,” with local residents and businesses having input into policing priorities in their areas. His “Paddick patrols” of community groups and residents associations would act as the “eyes and ears” of the police on the ground. He wants stop-and-search directed only at criminals and an end to the concentration on ethnic minority groups. It’s a properly liberal and progressive agenda. Ken Livingstone has the best policy on serious youth crime I’ve yet read, but for me Brian still leads the field on policing as a whole.
I was quite surprised by his boldness on public transport fares. He and Pidgeon have been banging the drum for their one hour bus pass and “early bird” concession rates for a long time now, but the manifesto pledge not to increase fares overall above the inflation rate over a four-year Paddick term is quite striking by comparison with Boris’s commitment to annual increases of RPI inflation plus two percent, though modest next to Ken’s “Fare Deal,” which the Lib Dems think over the top.
You can read the article in full here. If you want to read the manifesto in full, you can do so here and to help Brian’s campaign, sign up here.
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social
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8 Comments
For a second I thought the headline read “probably liberal”, which is the best that the Lib Dems can usually hope for from the Guardian.
You have to see it from their perspective, though. Most Guardian readers fear and loath Ken Livingstone in equal measure. If they are to defeat Boris, there really is only one chance.
Sadly, The Guardian’s endorsement is usually the kiss of death for any liberal politican…
Even as a Ken-supporter, have to say that Paddick is still infinitely better than Boris.
It’s just a real shame that Lib Dem members seem to be sheep-like in their unstinting support for the Conservatives. So, Paddick feels unable to genuinely criticise Boris.
It is, I believe, the most damaging thing to the Liberal Democrats – being seen as on the coat tails of the Tories. It would be great if Paddick, Jones and Livingstone (plus Siobhan) could encourage a genuinely progressive opposition to Boris.
The stumbling block, I fear, is the top-down diktats from Clegg et al that seem to ensure most members don’t do what they want. Look at the NHS bill for example.
Real shame, as in many ways Paddick, Livingstone and Jones share a lot in common. Leaving petty squabbling aside.
‘Ken’s Fare Deal’ which Channel 4 Fact Check dismisses as fiction. I haven’t seen much challenge of Ken in the Guardian other than from Jonathan Freedland.
It’s an odd situation – it seems clear that:
1. London overall is left-of-centre.
2. Ken Livingstone is unpopular with a large section of the left-leaning electorate.
3. Our policies and candidate are good.
However, we seem likely to end up with Boris as mayor. If only Brian Paddick could get some momentum going, I think there are a lot of voters who could be persuaded to vote for him.
Unfortunately, the relentless personality (Boris v. Ken) approach to the election makes it very hard for others to geta decent hearing.
Great candidate but I can’t help thinking not enough is being done to promote him. That said I now live in the west country and only spend a few days a month on London so I could be missing it…..
That’s a very good and comprehensive manifesto. So far we’ve done great on promoting Brian’s policies and expertise on crime, and a decent promotion of our “1 hour ticket” too.
I’d like to see more talk of our other plans too. Our promotion of the living wage, for example, would go down well among many voters.
Would love to see him do well.
Brian used to be a policeman you know. Has he mentioned that?