Caroline's news

The London Assembly has condemned remarks by Unite union leader Len McCluskey suggesting the 2012 Games should be seen as an opportunity to protest against the government.

In an interview with The Guardian on 28 February Mr McCluskey stated:
“I believe the unions, and the general community, have got every right to be out protesting. If the Olympics provide us with an opportunity, then that's exactly one that we should be looking at.”

A motion passed unanimously at yesterday's Assembly meeting rejected Mr McCluskey’s call to consider disrupting the Olympics.

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the eastward expansion of the London bike hire scheme, said:

“Today’s eastward expansion of the bike hire scheme is welcome, but in reality we need to do far more to improve the scheme so it can be enjoyed by far more Londoners.

“The fun and excitement of the bike hire scheme has now largely gone.

Commenting on figures showing that Transport for London has retained £55m in cash balances on Oyster cards that are no longer used, Caroline Pidgeon told the BBC:
"Transport for London is now sitting on a cash pile of £55m which should be returned to passengers.

"TfL claim people can easily reclaim their money from dormant Oyster cards but the evidence suggests otherwise. If it really was simple for passengers to reclaim their money, why has the amount left on dormant Oyster cards doubled in the last two years?"

Criminals have been warned that ‘if you break it, you fix it’ as part of a new poster campaign launched today by London Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick and his candidate for Deputy Mayor, Lib Dem London Assembly Member, Caroline Pidgeon.

The London wide payback programme co-ordinated by the Mayor’s office will be an alternative to short term prison sentences for convicted criminals so that they can give something back to society. The slogan for the proposal - ‘You Break It, You Fix It’ appears on posters at 176 sites around London.

Brian said: “We need to judge whether a sentence is tough or not from the criminals' perspective, not ours. Rather than sit in a cosy cell in prison for hours on end, criminals should be forced to clean up graffiti, repair broken fences, clear up fly-tipped rubbish and improve London’s public spaces. Local people will decide what needs to be done to improve their local area, something local authorities can’t currently afford to do.”

Caroline joined Liberal Youth members, Alison Hopkins (Lib Dem candidate in the Dollis Hill by-election), Cllr Daniel Brown and Bob Wharton out and about knocking on doors and talking to local residents on Saturday.

"Alison is a truly local champion having lived for decades in the area. I hope Alison is elected a a strong representative for Dollis Hill working hard on issues such as local libraries" commented Caroline.