Caroline's news

Caroline Pidgeon AM joined Assembly colleague Mike Tuffrey AM campaigning in Peckham for Jennifer Blake, alongside other Southwark Liberal Democrats and Councillors.

Commenting on the finding of the Employment Tribunal that RMT Union member Arwyn Thomas had been unfairly dismissed from his job as a Tube driver, Caroline Pidgeon Leader of the Liberal Democrat Assembly Group, said:

"London Underground have previously said that if the tribunal cleared Mr Thomas he would be re-instated. I hope that LU bosses will acknowledge the Tribunal's findings and that the RMT will also call off the further strike action they have planned so London can go about its normal business."

Following on from extensive work by Caroline Pidgeon on Oyster overcharging, London Travelwatch have now looked at the issue and discovered that 8 million passengers are overcharged every month.

The Evening Standard covers the story here, and discussed the situation with Caroline:

Caroline Pidgeon AM was out in Putney on Saturday 18th June with by-election candidate Lisa Smart.

The local Lib Dem Team are campaigning hard against the Conservative Councils plans to charge children to use a play area in Battersea Park and want to ensure this does not get rolled out to all other parks in the Borough.

“It was really great to spend the day knocking on doors and talking to local people about the issues that matter to them” said Caroline Pidgeon. “Lisa has lived in Putney for 10 years and is a local school governor. She will be a strong champion for Putney on Wandsworth Council.”

The BBC reports on Boris Johnson's inability to confirm how much the Greenwich to Newham cable car will cost the taxpayer, when pressed by Caroline Pidgeon at June's Mayor's Question Time session.

Responding to Caroline's question, the Mayor was vague:

When pressed by Liberal Democrat Caroline Pidgeon, who asked him to guarantee that all the money would be recouped from the private sector, Mr Johnson said that private funds "may well cover the total cost over time.

But he added: "Whether it will cover every penny of the set up costs I can't guarantee.

The cost "may very well be zero to the public sector, but I can't tell you what it will be yet", he told the assembly.

You can read the report - and video coverage - here on the BBC website.

Since that time, construction has begun on the cable car, but - as Mayorwatch reports - there is still no guarantee it will be ready for the 2012 Games.

As of September 2011, the costs of the cable car have now risen to £60m - and TfL is taking over part of the rail budget to pay for it. Read more here at Londonist, the News Shopper, Liberal Democrat Voice and on the BBC website.