Campaigning articles

£8,000 wasted on unused Help Points at Neasden station

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem leader in the London Assembly, has joined Brent Lib Dem councillors in criticising Transport for London's waste of £8,000 installing Help Points at Neasden tube station - and never putting them into use for passengers.

The Mayor recently confirmed in answer to a question from Caroline that Neasden is the only tube station to have had Help Points fitted which are then not used. He also confirmed that "on average the cost is £4,000 for the unit. The two disused Help Points at Neasden could have cost around £8,000 of taxpayers’ money.

The national Public Accounts Committee found that £410 million had been wasted by the former Labour Government by failing to properly risk manage of having various parts of the management of the Tube leased to the private sector on 30-year leases.

10 July 2010 - 4:15pm

Caroline backs Felicia Taiwo

On Saturday 26th June, Caroline joined Lib Dem candidate Felicia Taiwo in the Goresbrook ward in Barking. The team knocked on doors talking to local residents about issues from the state of the economy to the need for a strong representative for the area.

“Given that every other councillor in Barking is Labour, local residents clearly felt they need a strong local Champion from their neighbourhood to stand up for Goresbrook. Felicia Taiwo lives locally and is a really energetic person. I hope local residents will back Felicia on Thursday 8th July.”

Photo: Caroline joined Felicia Taiwo and the local Lib Dem team in Goresbrook

2 July 2010 - 8:49pm

Caroline supports the Chadwell Lib Dems

Caroline joined John Tyne and the local Chadwell Lib Dem Focus Team in Redbridge to support his candidacy in the Chadwell Ward by-election on 8th July.

John was previously the Councillor for twelve years, and was narrowly beaten in May.

“It was great to meet local residents and discuss their concerns. We also looked at issues with the subway, which I’ll be tabling questions to the Mayor about soon” commented Caroline Pidgeon AM.

2 July 2010 - 8:46pm

Caroline joins Terry Curtis in Tulse Hill campaign

Caroline joined Terry Curtis on Saturday out and about in Tulse Hill meeting local people and hearing their issues and concerns. Terry Curtis has been selected to stand in the Council By-Election on 1st July. Terry has lived in Tulse Hill for over 50 years, chairs the local police Safer Neighbourhood Panel and represents local tenants and leaseholders as Chair of the St Martin's Estate Board, where he lives.

“It was super to meet local people with Terry Curtis, who is so well known in the area. We received a really warm welcome on the doorstep and were able to discuss issues such as traffic calming and local policing” commented Caroline.

23 June 2010 - 9:35pm

Campaigning with Camden Lib Dems in Haverstock

Leader of the Liberal Democrats at City Hall, Caroline Pidgeon AM, joined Haverstock Liberal Democrats – Rahel Bokth, Jill Fraser, and Matt Sanders – on Saturday to help them with their council by-election on Tuesday 25th May. The team were in good spirits and many local residents were pledging their support for the hard working local team, who all live in the ward.

Matt and Jill have been councillors for a number of years and have a really strong track record of campaigning for local people from protecting Talacre Gardens, to getting the local library open for longer and securing extra police for our streets.

The by-election was caused by the sad death of Lib Dem candidate Cllr Syed Hoque in the campaign.

28 May 2010 - 11:29pm

Stanmore station needs real action on step-free access

Lib Dem London Transport Spokesperson Caroline Pidgeon AM joined Harrow East Lib Dem campaigner Nahid Boethe at Stanmore station in the run up to the General Election to look at the serious issue of step free access. Harrow Liberal Democrats were collecting signatures for a petition to make the station properly step free. Despite the station being described as 'step free' the reality is that at Stanmore Tube station wheelchair users not only face a very long journey to access the ramp but they also face a step between the platform and the trains.

"It is just disgraceful that at present there are no plans to improve access at Stanmore tube station until 2016 at the earliest. This situation is totally unacceptable, especially as the station is widely used by patients from across London who need to visit the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital" commented Caroline Pidgeon.

26 May 2010 - 11:15pm

One last chance for Surrey Canal Road station

A key meeting next week will probably be the final chance to secure funding for Surrey Canal Road station on the East London Line. This week Boris Johnson confirmed to Caroline Pidgeon, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson, that funding of the station will be one of the key issues on the agenda of a meeting being held next week (Thursday 27th May) between the Mayor of London and Philip Hammond MP, the new Secretary of State for Transport.

23 May 2010 - 6:11pm

Caroline and Simon Hughes campaign to reopen Maddock Way Post Office

Caroline Pidgeon joined Simon Hughes at the site of the old Maddock Way Post Office to launch a campaign to have it reopened.

Since the closure of Maddock Way, the office on Camberwell New Road has also been closed. Queues at the main office on Walworth Road have increased further and a survey of customers carried out by Simon has highlighted great dissatisfaction with the service. Simon has been working with Victoria Onayemi, the former manager of the Maddock Way Post Office, and with local residents, to campaign for it to be reopened.

29 April 2010 - 9:25pm

Caroline signs Rethink petition in Vauxhall

Mental health charity, Rethink, invited Vauxhall residents and fellow SE1 workers into its offices to partake in tea time treats on Wednesday 14th April.

Tea and cake is a soothing British tradition and scores top marks for boosting your mental wellbeing. The charity’s workers donated homemade and bought cakes for a cake sale to raise funds and took the opportunity to chat about Rethink’s general election petition to tempted punters.

At the event Rethink collected an extra 134 signatures to a petition which urges the next government to “care about mental health” bringing the total, so far, to more than 6,500.

Caroline Pidgeon, Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate for Vauxhall, attended the cake sale and signed the petition.

Caroline Pidgeon said: “I am really pleased to have offered my support for the Rethink Election campaign today, and take the candidate pledge. Mental illness affects so many people across the country, yet it is rarely given the same support as physical conditions like heart disease or cancer. Candidates from all parties need to challenge the stigma attached to mental health and speak up for frontline services as I will continue to do.”

15 April 2010 - 9:12pm

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