---
election_year: 2016
party_id: libdem
party_name: Liberal Democrats
party_leader: Caroline Pidgeon
political_spectrum: centre
victory: false
government_outcome: opposition
sections:
  - economy
  - taxation
  - health
  - education
  - housing
  - immigration
  - foreign-policy
  - environment
  - transport
  - law-and-order
  - welfare
  - democracy-and-constitution
  - energy
  - devolution
  - science-and-technology
  - local-government
---

# Liberal Democrats London Mayoral Manifesto 2016

Caroline Pidgeon’s London Liberal Democrats

**Making London work for everyone**

### Our commitments to you on...
*   Housing
*   Policing
*   Transport
*   Jobs
*   Children and young people
*   Environment and health

London is a great global city. We must
**strengthen and enhance its place as**
**the capital city of the UK at the heart of**
**Europe.**

But London also needs to work for everyone - not just the lucky
few who can afford to isolate themselves from the problems
facing most Londoners. The reality today for too many is a
crisis in housing, cuts in community policing, crowded and
expensive public transport ill suited to London's dynamic
economy, overcrowded schools and inadequate childcare for
working parents, made worse by the dangerously polluted air
we all breathe.

The Liberal Democrats have a positive and ambitious vision for
a better London. Radical and realistic, a Liberal London would
be fairer and greener, made possible because it is safer.

From cutting crime to targeted fare reductions, enabling world
class education and better childcare for all our children, and
building thousands of new homes, the Liberal Democrats have

real solutions to the capital's biggest challenges.

I am the *only* mayoral candidate with the experience of working
in City Hall to improve the lives of *all* Londoners. Whilst the
other candidates talk of their ideas for London, only I have fully
worked out plans and the experience to make them happen.

This manifesto sets out our plans for London. We've based it
on what Londoners say matters to them. But it's not
exhaustive - so please continue the conversation and let me
know what you think.

It is time for a change. It is time for a Liberal London that
works for everyone.

Caroline Pidgeon

Caroline Pidgeon AM

Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London

# Contents

## Our Commitments to you 1

## Caroline Pidgeon’s record 3

## Our record for London 4

## Running London - the Lib Dem difference 6

## Costings and commitments 7

## Housing Londoners - it’s time to get building 9
* Land for Londoners 11
* New ways of funding 13
* Making better use of existing and newly built housing 14
* Protecting tenants and leaseholders - and helping landlords 15
* Using the Mayor's powers 16
* Planning for a better future 18
* Tall buildings 20
* Improving Londoners' environment and health 21

## More police, on the streets, where it matters most 22
* Boosting numbers, more visible policing 24
* Working with Londoners 25
* Use of Stop and Search 26
* Violence against women 27
* Ensuring safety while travelling 28

## Let's get London moving again 29
* Fairer fares for Londoners 30
* Cutting congestion 31
* Improving London's transport network 33
* Funding long-term investment 35
* Putting Londoners in charge 36
* Reducing pollution and investing in new technology 37
* Choice and safety with taxis and private hire 38
* Promoting walking 39
* Encouraging cycling 41
* Making the Cycle Hire scheme work for all of London 42
* Better use of waterways 43
* Bridges and river crossings 44
* Using air space wisely 45
* Improving Londoners' environment and health 46

## More jobs and growth - by staying at the heart of Europe 47
* London at the heart of the EU 49
* Young Londoners - a great start in life 50
* Diversity and equality 51
* Developing skills 52
* Creating jobs for Londoners 54
* Supporting small business 55
* Growing the digital economy 57
* Promoting social enterprises and the voluntary sector 58
* Big business responsibility 59

- Paying Londoners a fair wage 60
- Helping high streets 61
- Promoting London 62
- Improving Londoners' environment and health 63

## Young Londoners - a great start in life
- Better schools, more places 65
- Balancing Act - childcare for working parents 66
- Improving life-chances for young Londoners 68
- Fairness for all - promoting diversity and combating discrimination 69
- Mainstreaming, not sidelining 70

## Diverse London - working for everyone 69
- Serving older people 71
- Access and equality for people with a disability 72
- **LGBT+ communities** 75
- A fair city? 76

## Green, clean and healthy
- Clean healthy air 79
- Zero carbon London 80
- Zero waste London 82
- Green lungs, good design 83
- One planet living 84
- Promoting health 85

## Active London - London at play
- London at play 86
- Cultural diversity 88

## Our commitments to you

### Housing
We can tackle London’s housing crisis with an Olympic effort to build new homes.
*   investing billions realised by continuing the Olympic Games precept to build 50,000 council homes to rent and 150,000 for sale or for private rent including rent-to-buy for first time buyers – with a City Hall building company and a skills academy to train construction workers
*   cracking down on rogue landlords who rip off private tenants, by extending mandatory registration and offering long tenancies, curbing unfair letting agent fees and giving tenants extra rights when landlords sell up

### Policing
We can make London safer for you and your family.
*   recruiting 3,000 more police on the streets, focused on transport hot-spots, and bring back local policing, tackling gang problems and improving our safety and security
*   protecting young people from knife crime, with knife arches and education programmes in schools and youth workers in A&E, to break the cycle of gang violence

### Transport
We can modernise fares for flexible working.
*   half price tube, DLR and TfL Overground fares before 7.30am and a one-hour bus ticket, while cutting wasteful projects by Transport for London and sacking train companies that fail
*   re-zoning tube and rail stations to reduce excessive fares, maintaining investment in extending the tube and securing Crossrail 2 funding
*   cutting congestion on our roads, encouraging cycling and improving safety

### Jobs
We can protect jobs and grow the economy with London remaining in the European Union.
*   keeping London at the heart of Europe, benefiting our economy from inward investment and open trading internationally
*   training more young people in the skills of the

future, supporting small business and growing job opportunities in the new digital technologies

## Children
We cansupport parents and give all London’s children the best possible start in life.

* A good school place of choice for every child, taking over responsibility from central government for London’s school places and quality, appointing a London Schools Commissioner to lead improvements
* Wrap-around childcare for parents working long hours and training more child minders, funded through a new London Children's Fund from a tourist levy on hotels like in Paris and New York

## Health and the environment
We canimprove air quality and reduce congestion

* Cleaning up the air we breathe, including phasing out dirty diesel vehicles
* Switching London’s buses and taxis to be fully electric and helping to switch commercial vans too
* Cutting congestion by charging extra for non- essential workplace parking in central London and bringing in a new congestion zone around Heathrow.

Now, more than ever, we need a Mayor and Assembly
who are in touch with ordinary Londoners.
Caroline Pidgeon knows what it’s like to find a job and start
a family in London. Leaving university – the first in her
family to go – she came to London for work, starting with a
small business. She was able to get a foot on the housing
ladder, with a mortgage on a flat above a shop on the
Walworth Road – an opportunity simply out of reach of
today’s young people. Now a mother with a young child,
she knows first-hand the struggle for reliable childcare and
the worries about quality school places.
With an impressive record of public service, she’s leading
the Liberal Democrat campaign for a Mayor and an
Assembly on the side of Londoners wanting a city that
works for everyone....

*   if you are young and need a job - real opportunities
    to get training and work that pays fairly
*   if your rent is too high - more and better housing
    and action on rogue landlords
*   if you are fearful about crime – more police
    patrolling your streets, cutting crime and out

working with young people, not sitting behind their
desks

*   if you are a parent concerned about childcare and
    schooling – more places, flexibly available and at a
    standard you can trust
*   if you need to get to work or out and about at the
    weekend – flexible fares you can afford and less
    crowded, more reliable tubes and buses
*   if you are worried about your future well-being in a
    huge city like London – healthy air to breathe, less
    pollution and a sustainable future for you and your
    family.

## Our record
Liberal Democrats on the London Assembly led by Caroline Pidgeon have stood up for London and Londoners.

*   Liberal Democrats have campaigned constantly to reward commuters and help people faced with rising transport fares. It was the Liberal Democrats who persuaded the Mayor to introduce half price tickets for job seekers on London’s bus and tram network and have campaigned to make the fares system fit for purpose for those who use flexible and part time working. Whilst the Mayor rejected Caroline’s plan for part time travel cards, he was finally forced to introduce lower daily caps on Oyster Pay as You Go, leading to a far better deal for people who work part time, flexible hours each week or regularly work from home.
*   Liberal Democrats exposed how thousands of Oyster card users were being wrongly overcharged, in some cases with machine readers automatically charging maximum fares irrespective of the length of the journey. After repeated campaigning by Caroline, Transport for London finally accepted the need for automatic refunds for some passengers and these have now totalled more than £8 million since 2013.
*   Liberal Democrats on the London Assembly have repeatedly identified areas of wasteful spending which would be better used for frontline services. For example, Caroline identified tube stations where over £64 million was spent on step free access schemes, but then cancelled before their completion.
*   Liberal Democrats have been at the forefront of criticising the way contracts are awarded by TfL. For example, Caroline presented extensive evidence highlighting shortcomings in the award of the design contract for the vanity project of the Garden Bridge. The then Commissioner for TfL was forced to accept a full audit of the procurement process.
*   Liberal Democrats have campaigned to increase the number, size and range of affordable housing in the capital. Caroline has championed innovative ways of financing new homes and held the Mayor to his commitments.

* Liberal Democrats have led the way in championing improvements to accessible transport. Caroline alongside Guide Dogs for the Blind successfully persuaded TfL to reverse its antiquated policy of not allowing guide dogs on moving escalators. She also exposed the frequency of lifts not working due to lack of trained staff.
* Liberal Democrats at City Hall, and in government, helped secure funding for Crossrail and saved other crucial services like Thameslink from being cancelled, meaning improved journeys to work for millions of Londoners in the future.
* Liberal Democrats have repeatedly called for better skills training and developing apprenticeships, championing innovative schemes. Liberal Democrats in City Hall promoted the use of apprenticeship schemes on the London 2012 Olympics site and have called for City Hall to be a one stop shop for apprentices in London.
* Liberal Democrats have set the agenda on air quality, leading the fight for a central clean air zone, the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street and developed costed plans for a big switch to electric vehicles
* Liberal Democrats have successfully campaigned to make cycling a mainstream part of the London transport network. Caroline helped ensure that cyclists at non-peak hours can take bikes onto the Docklands Light Railway and has helped ensure vital safety improvements at numerous junctions across London.

## Running London – the Lib Dem difference
Liberal Democrats believe in a better way to run government – not the “we know best” approach of other parties but genuinely including citizens in decisions that affect their lives and opening up government to independent scrutiny.

### We will:
* consult Londoners over fares, just as there is a legal requirement to consult about Council Tax
* set up an independent Office of Budget and Performance, modelled on American cities like New York, to provide tough, value-for-money audits of expenditure
* ensure every decision taken by the GLA and its family of agencies explicitly addresses the likely impact on jobs, health, fairness and the environment
* hold a monthly press conference, involving the Mayor and the Assembly, so London’s media has access to the politicians who make the decisions that affect Londoners’ lives
* set up a consultative council of a cross-section of London’s communities, inclusive of London’s diverse ethnicity and cultures, young and old, disabled and able-bodied, gay and straight alike.

The Greater London Authority has changed from a purely strategic guiding body to one that has powers to deliver services and take the initiative to regenerate London. That makes it even more important to have a strong group of Liberal Democrat Assembly Members standing up for Londoners.

This manifesto does not just propose immediate policy commitments; it also sets out a vision for London over the next two decades, to strengthen our resilience to global changes like climate change and build a better quality of life for all Londoners over the long term.

## Costings and commitments
Liberal Democrats believe in using tax revenues wisely, always seeking value for taxpayers’ money. We also believe in the worth of public services, and in the importance of investing so life in a great city like London can remain liveable.

Our key commitments are all costed and will be implemented within the four-year term of office. In particular, our costed plan for housing would reinstate the Olympic precept which the current Mayor is cancelling, and repurpose it to our Olympic effort for homebuilding.

Most of our other proposals make better use of existing resources and better ways of working between agencies. Those that require some pump priming will mainly be funded from the savings we plan to achieve.

In this way we plan to limit any Council Tax increase over the four-year term of office to cost of living adjustments. Where new or expanded services become necessary, for example due to a changing security threat facing London, we will consult Londoners before asking for any real terms increase.

That said, increasingly big infrastructure improvements will not come from taxpayers but will be funded from the increased wealth that regeneration within London will create, keeping a greater share locally. We want greater devolution of property taxes, such as stamp duty and welcome business rate devolution, as well as the use of supplementary business rates and community infrastructure levies.

This will help fund long term schemes such as Crossrail 2. Already London creates over 20% of the nation’s wealth, measured by Gross Value Added, even though we represent only 12% of the total UK population. London contributes between £14billion and £19billion more to the national exchequer from the taxes we pay compared to public spending in the capital.

### We will also:
* crack down on waste and perks for senior staff in all GLA bodies, like those enjoyed by the police (such as chauffeur driven cars, free central London accommodation, first class rail and business class flights)

*   end vanity projects that don't provide value for
    money services
*   create an independent Office of Budget and
    Performance, modelled on American cities like New
    York, to provide efficiency audits and value-for-
    money advice to all GLA agencies
*   set a new policy that the ratio of low to high salaries
    in the GLA should not be greater than ten times.

## Housing Londoners - it’s time to get building

## Housing Londoners – it’s time to get building

The shortage of housing, and of truly affordable homes in particular, isn’t just a crisis for individual Londoners; it has become a huge constraint on London’s economic growth. Rents outside the regulated social sector are racing ahead, as growing demand outstrips available supply, and house prices in London continue to rise against the UK trend.

Ultimately the real answer is a dramatic increase in the number of homes of all types in London. Both previous mayors argued about targets and percentages while failing to achieve the step-change in numbers needed. A Liberal Democrat Mayor and Assembly will lead a massive home building revolution – what we call an ‘Olympic effort’ - to meet Londoners’ housing needs, and through construction have an immediate impact on skills and opportunities for young people.

Our plan is for 200,000 new homes of all types over the four-year Mayoral term, including a big increase in a well-regulated private renting sector. Experts estimate that half the homes will need to be in the social and intermediate sectors and we will work to achieve this goal. And our plan is not just an aspiration, we are putting money where our mouth is and explaining exactly how we will pay for it, recommitting the Olympic Games precept to housing investment for 50,000 more council homes.

Fundamentally, new housing must be affordable. We set a bold objective to create a new ‘living rent’ standard, with the goal that Londoners should pay no more than one-third of their take-home pay on rent costs.

### Key facts – the need

*   London is growing, with more than one million more people expected to be living here by 2030
*   Over 500,000 people are currently languishing on housing waiting lists and the number of people sleeping rough on the streets of London has more than doubled in the past five years
*   Over one in ten households is overcrowded – the highest in the country
*   Nearly 60,000 homes are vacant, of which over 20,000 are classified as “long term empty properties”
*   One in four London households live in privately rented homes, and some landlords exploit the shortage through high rents and poor standards

*   A third of councils in London (10 boroughs) failed to prosecute a single landlord for providing unsafe accommodation in 2014/2015, while a further 18 prosecuted fewer than 10

## Key facts – the costs

*   London house prices average over £500,000, almost 20 times the median income and easily the highest in the country. They have risen faster than the national average over the past five years and last year grew at twice the national rate.
*   The proportion of London households which own their own home with a mortgage has fallen back to its 1981 level of 28%, having reached a high of 40% in 1992.
*   Home ownership rates amongst younger Londoners have fallen sharply with nearly a quarter of young adults now living with their parents, up from one in six in the late 1990s.
*   Social rents are 20% higher in London than nationally and private rents are more than double the English median rate.
*   Tenants in the social rented sector pay 37% of their income on rent, while the average rent for a one-bedroom flat in London accounts for over 50% of the gross average monthly salary in London

## Land for Londoners

The land is available within London to meet our growing needs, much of it in public ownership and under the direct charge of the Mayor who is now the largest public sector landowner in the capital. Despite this, fewer than 2,000 homes have actually been built on GLA owned land since 2008.

A total area equating to 3,745ha (or 2.5% of the entire area of Greater London) could be classified as Brownfield. Of this, over 20 per cent is owned by the public sector.

The current Mayor scrapped his predecessor’s target that 50% of new homes should be affordable but the previous Mayor’s fixed target was often not met anyway. We believe developers need to know what is expected of them, so we will set a benchmark guideline that half of housing should be affordable. Boroughs will get the best possible legal and commercial advice from the GLA to negotiate tough agreements, to secure the maximum number possible.

In an era of public sector resource constraint, it is clear that London will need to renew and grow its social infrastructure – housing, transport, nurseries and schools.

Funds will come from development gain by using the extra powers being devolved from central government over tax and incentive mechanisms such as business rates exemptions and so-called tax incremental financing.

Other countries like America and in Europe have long had a well-established private rented sector where financial institutions (such as pension funds) invest in private housing for rent, from which they make stable long-term returns. For those who choose it, private renting should be a good quality, long term option.

### We will:
*   use the land capacity in London for 200,000 new homes to be built over the next Mayoral term, with a new London Housing Company to match public land with private investment and bring new funding from institutional investment
*   continue the Olympic Games precept over the next four years to build 50,000 council homes to rent and 150,000 for sale or for private rent including rent-to-buy for first time buyers
*   use the Mayor’s planning powers more effectively to encourage home building, including setting a

benchmark guideline that half of housing in new
developments should be affordable for the majority
of Londoners
* support boroughs in having tough negotiations on
planning gain with developers, by creating a central
advisory unit, so that the technical advice available
to councils is as good as the best that developers
can routinely employ
* use the GLA’s powers to create transparent and
accountable Mayoral Development Corporations
where needed to kick start a home building
revolution
* give local community groups the right to bid for
public sector land or buildings left unused or
unoccupied for more than two years
* promote the role of community land trusts, where
the public benefit can be locked in for future
tenants, and encourage many smaller builders and
developers to bring forward local schemes to
increase diversity and choice

## New ways of funding
The large increase in home building relies on creating new channels to get much more private sector investment. During the last housing investment period (2011-2015) around £25 billion was spent on housing benefit in London, much of it subsidising rents in the private sector, and in the same period less than 20% of that sum was invested in building new affordable homes in London. That balance must change.

### We will:
*   create a London Housing Company as a vehicle to assemble public land and use the London Housing precept to finance a large scale (£2 billion) programme of affordable home building. When matched with private investment, this will help bring forward major new developments. By employing its own workforce and apprentices, this could provide 100,000 new skilled jobs for Londoners over four years at the same time as building the critical infrastructure our city needs.
*   offer smaller housing associations the ability to raise loan capital through a London Housing Bond, supported by City Hall, to access funds in the same way larger associations increasingly can
*   challenge banks and mortgage companies to ensure adequate funds are available for those who can afford to purchase, and continue to offer help to first time-buyers through shared equity schemes
*   work with boroughs to use the greater financial muscle they now have through their housing revenue accounts to restart their own building programmes
*   support plans by local community groups working with developers to create Community Land Trusts – non-profit, community-based organisations that develop housing or other assets at permanently affordable levels for long-term community benefit
*   encourage greater diversity of schemes including mutuals, cooperatives both for new build and housing management and self-build

## Making better use of existing and newly built housing
Part of the solution to the housing crisis is making better use of existing assets, including empty homes. But London’s housing market continues to be a magnet for investment, both at home and abroad, with half of all new homes in central London now bought by investors rather than owner occupiers. We need to ensure that investment is directed into housing which will help solve London’s housing needs rather than just used to increase the number of (often empty) luxury properties across the capital.

We will:
*   bring empty homes in London back into use as affordable housing, insisting boroughs establish clear strategies (including use of CPO powers if necessary) for tackling empty properties, offer grants or interest free loans for empty properties needing renovation – aim to bring 20,000 empty and underused properties back into use as housing
*   bring the spaces above shops on high streets back into housing use
*   with retailers and transport companies, identify unused urban space above and around supermarkets and stations for affordable housing
*   make it easier for people living in social housing to move within London if they need to be nearer to employment opportunities or have care responsibilities, by ensuring better housing mobility options for social housing tenants
*   carry out a comprehensive study of the impact which investor buyers are having on the price, affordability and supply of new homes across London and review all property and Council Taxes with a view to removing any incentives currently handed out to investor buyers.
*   expand the existing Seaside and Country Homes Scheme – first set up in the 1960s to help older Londoners move closer to family or to retire – which currently has more than four times the demand than it is able to help, so freeing up properties for social rent

## Protecting tenants and leaseholders – and helping landlords

The private rented sector is already playing a growing role in meeting London’s housing needs. We want to support and protect those renting properties in London and guard against the activities of unscrupulous landlords.

### We will:

*   promote the effective registration of private landlords, using local authorities’ extensive powers under the Housing Act 2004 to help improve the management of the private rented sector, including the selective licensing of all privately rented housing as Newham Council has successfully piloted
*   set up a central unit to prosecute rogue landlords, and mandate councils to take much greater enforcement action using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System under the Housing Act 2004, so forcing landlords to make improvements to their properties to meet acceptable minimum standards
*   renew the Mayor’s kite mark for responsible renting in the private sector, encouraging good landlords
*   and especially their agents to register on a new online website portal particularly useful for students and young people looking for safe and decent accommodation
*   ensure that all landlords abide by the terms of the Tenants’ Deposit Protection Scheme, so that landlords cannot unfairly delay or keep tenants’ deposits when they move out
*   encourage landlords to offer longer minimum (at least two years) tenancies, especially those landlords being used to discharge councils’ homeless rehousing duties
*   introduce a ‘right to buy’ scheme for tenants when their private landlord is planning to sell up, giving them first refusal
*   work with leaseholders of flats to provide protection from unscrupulous freeholders who impose high maintenance or insurance charges, also including local authority leaseholders and freeholders hit by unexpectedly high costs for major works
*   promote more general leasehold reform to protect people in flats, both purpose-built and conversions, from unscrupulous freeholders

For more on improving the private rental sector, see

Rogue Landlords in London : A survey of local authority
enforcement in the private rented sector

Stephen Knight March2016

http://glalibdems.org.uk/en/document/housing/rogue-
landlords-in-london.pdf

## Using the Mayor’s powers
Since the Homes and Communities Agency was folded
into the GLA with funding flowing through City Hall to
boroughs and social landlords, the Mayor has not been
active enough with councils who are not playing their part
in tackling London’s housing crisis. This covers increasing
supply and driving up standards across the whole social
rented sector in London.

### We will:
* develop with tenants’ representatives a Good
Landlord Charter for councils and housing
associations to adhere to, if they wish to access
funding from the Mayor
* set targets for tackling overcrowding, bringing
empty homes into use, offering mobility, enforcing
environmental health standards, involving tenants
and other good management issues that will
increase the available stock of housing
* protect tenants from social landlords who abuse the
flexible powers over tenancies and rent levels
* ensure that women suffering domestic abuse do
not lose their right to a secure tenancy if they enter
a shelter, encouraging social landlords to
guarantee a route through to rehousing, with a zero
tolerance approach to abuse and working to
remove the abuser, not the victim
* work with landlords and the voluntary sector to
ensure rough sleepers don’t just have a bed for the
night but a pathway into secure housing, new skills
and a permanent job, so ending the scourge of
homelessness in our capital city
* combat homelessness by expanding the pilot ‘No
first night out’ project, use TfL advertising space
including on buses to publicise housing advice, and
campaign for European Aid funds to help destitute
EU migrants

*   work with borough councils on prevention strategies, so actions they take (such as evictions) do not create additional costs and harm for individuals especially children.

## Planning for a better future

The Mayor has strong powers both to set the strategic development framework for London and to make individual planning decisions, by commenting on boroughs’ decisions, directing refusal and taking over large developments for direct decision by City Hall.

### We will:

*   revise the London Plan, building a cross-party cross-sector consensus on meeting London’s growth needs within acceptable environmental and social constraints and then intervening strongly where developments are blocked that are in the common good
*   press Parliament to change the law so individuals have the power to appeal to the Secretary of State (DCLG) in those cases where councils fail to comply with their own affordable housing targets.
*   require local councils to publish the financial viability assessments - submitted on behalf of developers – where these are used to reduce the level of affordable housing below locally agreed targets
*   introduce a new land-use class category for ‘Affordable Housing’ to enable councils to protect land for that purpose, ensuring developers are clear from the outset what is acceptable in planning terms. This means land values better reflect wider social and economic priorities of boroughs.
*   oppose the use of permitted development rights to convert commercial property to housing without going through the normal process of obtaining planning permission
*   consider the feasibility of charging a levy on developers when they do not proceed with a scheme after obtaining planning permission without good reason
*   open up the decision-making process at City Hall, so meetings are held in public and community groups get the same access as developers in influencing decisions
*   hold public consultations over so-called ‘opportunity areas’ and ‘intensification areas’, ending the stitch-up between the GLA and some councils
*   ensure that if housing estates are redeveloped to help increase the number of new homes through

higher density that residents are fully consulted and
involved in the planning of the redevelopment
* ensure development is on brownfield land, to
protect London’s open spaces and the green belt
around the capital
* treat the installation of superfast broadband as a
utility service just as important as water, electricity
and phone lines
* commence dialogue with the rest of the South East
so that London’s growth can be accommodated
once brownfield land and Opportunity Areas have
been built on, so avoiding any threat to London’s
precious Green Belt.
* protect the historic lines of sight and viewing
corridors across the capital
* support small retailers and promote job creation in
outer London, to ensure a balanced economy and
less need to commute long distances

## Tall buildings
London is seeing an explosion of tall buildings, not just in
central London, but also in other parts of the London area.
A recent survey by New London Architecture found that
236 buildings of more than 20 storeys are currently
planned in London. Of these, 80% are intended to be
residential. Almost a fifth are already under construction
and around half have planning approval. However, many
do not include anything close to half as affordable housing.

Some developers argue that building high is necessary to
meet London’s housing needs. However, the “Skyline
Statement” issued by the Architects Journal and the
Observer declared that “most of the proposed towers are
not vital to London’s prosperity and financial wellbeing.
The majority are residential, but they are neither essential
to meeting housing needs, nor the best way to achieve
greater densities.

### We will:
* ensure that planning policy is strengthened to
  restrict the location of skyscrapers and improve
  their design
* establish a “Skyline Commission” to advise on the
  design impact of tall buildings and review existing
  protected views with the intention of adding new
  viewing corridors
* adopt more detailed and rigorous master planning
  in relation to tall buildings, especially within
  Opportunity Areas
* ensure that local communities have greater
  involvement from the start in developing plans for
  tall buildings

## Improving Londoners’ environment and health
Better housing is one of the best ways to reduce fuel poverty, increase environmental standards and address climate change. It is now widely recognised that poor housing has a big impact on health, while overcrowding affects educational achievement.

As part of our plans for the long term sustainability of London as a liveable city, we will:
*   be ambitious to make large developments achieve at least Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5 and require good liveable space standards
*   set a target for CO2 reduction in the existing housing stock and speed up action to roll out loft and cavity wall insulation, targeting specific neighbourhoods to increase take-up
*   aim to install solar panels across an equivalent of 200,000 London rooftops by 2025
*   expand retrofitting schemes to see existing stock brought up to modern day standards, including using powers to require private residential landlords to undertake energy efficiency improvements
*   insist that a fair share of the national energy company obligation is ring-fenced for London which is currently losing out
*   through planning policy seek to maintain mixed communities, increase the number of family-sized homes and foster a better live/work/play combination in developments – including harnessing the power of digital technologies and superfast broadband – so reducing the need to travel long distances

**More police, on the streets, where it matters most**

Making London work for everyone

## More police, on the streets, where it matters most

Crime and the fear of crime in London remain far too high, despite all the promises of the past two mayors. London has the highest rate of recorded crime in England and the lives of too many young Londoners are shattered by the levels of knife crime on our streets. And we have seen from the atrocities in Brussels, Paris and elsewhere that we reduce a visible police presence at our peril. At the same time some crimes are becoming more prevalent, noticed or reported, such as child abuse, hate crime and violence against women.

### Key facts

*   Victim satisfaction in London compares poorly with other parts of the country - one in five victims of crime in London are not satisfied with the service they receive
*   Knife crime offences are rising – in 2014 knife crime offences increased 51% in a six-month period and this increase continued into 2015 when 15 teenagers were stabbed to death in London, the highest number since 2008
*   Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) strength has decreased by 40% since 2012
*   Recorded hate crime (including race, religious and sexual orientation hate crimes) is increasing – reported transgender hate offences went up by 25% in 2015 compared to 2014, while homophobic crime was up 64% compared to 2013

## Boosting numbers, more visible policing

In 2013 the Metropolitan Police established a new approach to neighbourhood policing which led to significant changes to local policing with dedicated Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) drastically scaled back from one Police Sergeant, two Police Constables (PCs) and three Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) allocated to each ward to only one PC and one PCSO. This has led to a less visible police presence and lower levels of community engagement. Given the clear need for enhanced community engagement and intelligence, this is a misguided approach.

### We will:

*   increase the number of police on our streets from 32,000 to 35,000, targeting crime hot spots across the transport network
*   increase the number of PCs and PCSOs in dedicated SNTs - more visible neighbourhood policing is vital for intelligence gathering, through community engagement and reassurance
*   roll out the ‘Cardiff model’ in all hospital A&E departments whereby data on violence-related admissions is always anonymously shared and used to develop crime reduction responses
*   help deter knife crime by putting a high priority on early intervention, education and prevention including placing youth workers in every A&E to make contact with those admitted to hospital due to violent crime and help support them to end this cycle of violence and roll out a knife crime education programme to every London school
*   create strong Town Centre Police Teams where SNT boundaries cross busy town centres
*   pledge to sell the three water cannons which the Mayor so unwisely bought
*   cut out waste, remove senior officer perks and save money through greater civilisation of back office roles, not front line services.

For more on knife crime, see -

### To the point: an investigation into London’s knife crime

Caroline Pidgeon November 2015

https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/ldlondon/pages/383/attachments/original/1448568363/To_The_Point_Knife_Crime_report.pdf?1448568363

Knife crime is disproportionately affecting young people
from BME communities, as 43% of all victims of knife crime
with injury are black males under the age of 25. Caroline
Pidgeon has a ten-point plan to combat this scourge,
including more handheld metal detectors and knife arches
on streets and anti-knife crime educational programmes
delivered in every school in London every year.

## Working with Londoners
The two previous mayors have failed to involve people in the future of London’s police service. Yet we know that working with local communities helps to improve intelligence gathering and catches more criminals.

### We will:
*   give each neighbourhood its own plan for policing and the deployment of officers, based on ward surveys and involving local people and local businesses in decisions
*   listen to and take seriously those affected by homophobic, transphobic, racist and faith-based hate crimes and crimes against people with a disability
*   reverse recent cuts to hate crime policing posts and develop a London-wide strategy for reporting, investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.
*   devolve more resources to local borough commanders and allow them to set priorities in line with local priorities
*   hold an annual public meeting, at which all those responsible for crime prevention and reduction will be held to account, including London’s Police and Crime Commissioner
*   provide more online and targeted information for people unable to attend SNT or community group meetings so they can have their say about local policing priorities – this includes local businesses who should be able to report crime by email.

## Use of Stop and Search
The police must focus on criminals and avoid targeting innocent people. So Stop and Search must be carefully targeted and intelligence-led.

Currently this practice disproportionately affects young people from BME communities; in 2014/15 black people were stopped and searched at three times the rate of white people.

As Deputy Chair of the Police and Crime Committee of the London Assembly Caroline Pidgeon has been at the forefront of the pressure to review the use of Stop and Search procedures.

Full data on who is being stopped and for what reasons need to be published and analysed, so the police are properly accountable. Current recommendations for frontline police officers to have body-worn cameras are positive moves, as are moves to increase the quality of the interaction between officers, communities and young people.

## Violence against women

Last year the Metropolitan Police recorded over 5,000 rapes but London courts convicted just 188 rapists in 2014. Liberal Democrats believe the criminal justice process leaves too many victims feeling ignored or let down. Survivors must be better supported and taken seriously, not left blaming themselves. The Mayor must work with voluntary sector groups to make this happen.

### We will:

*   lead a public campaign aimed at raising awareness and dispelling common myths about rape based firmly on the principle that anything less than positive and explicit consent, freely given by someone capable of making that decision, must be dealt with as rape, building on the recent central government ‘no means no’ campaign
*   ensure survivor support groups are represented on the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime advisory board
*   guarantee funding for the existing level of Rape Crisis Centre provision and work closely with boroughs to ensure joined-up provision across London. Better funded rape support organisations will also help support survivors of rape at all stages of the criminal justice system and help to provide guidance, advice and support
*   expand staffing for the Child Abuse Investigating Teams – which includes investigating allegations of rape and sexual assault against children – by the equivalent of one additional officer per borough, and also double the number of police officers working in schools
*   oversee comprehensive retraining of the police service to ensure all officers understand their role and the appropriate response to survivors. Many offenders commit rape multiple times before being caught – providing a safe environment for survivors to report can help stop serial rapists in their tracks
*   introduce police performance measures based on the level of satisfaction experienced by rape survivors who have had contact with the police.

## Ensuring safety while travelling

Despite much talk, the two previous mayors have failed to protect people using public transport – particularly late at night. With 24-hour tube about to start running on some lines, it is especially important that we make passenger safety a priority.

We will:
* trial a scheme to allow night buses to stop on request closer to passengers’ final destinations, rather than at fixed bus stops, to protect passenger safety
* increase the visibility of uniformed officers at key travel interchanges throughout London, especially late at night, and working with the British Transport Police on night time tube, rail, tram and bus patrols, including taxi ranks
* ensure that the British Transport Police, the Met Police and the other emergency services in London are properly equipped to talk to each other, particularly at times when major incidents occur
* support Street Pastors and others who want to help patrol areas of London where active night time economies mean people, often young people, are vulnerable.
* double the number of dedicated taxi and private hire enforcement officers to 165 by 2017 to crack down on touting and rogue operators and drivers.

**Let's get London moving again**
**Making London work for everyone**

## Let’s get London moving again
London’s transport is at breaking point. Record numbers cram into the underground, trains and buses – a daily nightmare for millions who commute – while both previous mayors have a record of hiking up the fares. London’s roads are becoming increasingly congested. Pollution levels remain dangerously high and noise from the increasing number of aircraft in our skies regularly disturbs millions of Londoners.

## Key Facts
* Half of all bus journeys in England take place in London – over 2.3 billion journeys, up 60% since 2000
* The Underground is busier than at any time in its 153-year history – carrying 4.2 million passengers each week day
* 2.8 million journeys per day were made by rail in 2014, a 70% increase over 2000, with the numbers on the Overground quadrupled since TfL took over responsibility in 2007
* 21% of journeys in London are made entirely on foot
* Air pollution from traffic causes huge health problems, leading to over 10,000 premature deaths per year, as well as making London a dirty, noisy city
* Excess speed on London’s roads injures or kills some 28,000 people a year – including 100 pedestrian deaths
* In recent years between 10 and 16 cyclists have died each year on London’s roads, with more than 400 seriously injured

## Fairer fares for Londoners
A single tube fare in Zone 1 has increased by 50% while
Boris Johnson has been Mayor. In tough economic times,
when wages are stagnant, the Liberal Democrats want to
keep fares as low as possible while maintaining the
investment programme that is vital as London grows. We
will target help on fares for those most in need and overall
we will not increase fares by more than the rate of inflation.

Our package of fare reductions will concentrate help where
it is most needed.

### We will:
*   introduce half price fares for Tube, Overground rail
    and DLR travellers before 7.30am - to reduce the
    cost of travel for thousands of hard-working
    Londoners and ease peak congestion
*   introduce a one-hour bus ticket – to allow
    passengers to change buses without needing a
    new ticket. We have been calling for this since
    2008
*   introduce flexible travel cards – to allow passengers
    to buy a set number of days’ travel each month and
    receive the same discount as a monthly travel card.
    This recognises flexible working patterns
*   ‘Oysterise’ the Cable Car – to integrate it into the
    transport network and allow travel card holders to
    use the service at no extra cost.

We will also review all the fare zones across London so
passengers are not disadvantaged. Despite promising to
do so the current Mayor has singularly failed to ensure the
rezoning of stations such as Surbiton, Kingston and
Bermondsey.

Liberal Democrats are determined to protect both the 24-
hour Freedom Pass and the 60+ London Oyster
Photocard, so valued by older and disabled Londoners.
We remain against means testing. We will work with
boroughs to ensure it is maintained and secured for the
years ahead. We will negotiate with the Train Operating
Companies to extend it earlier in the day. We will also
protect the other concessionary fare schemes that give
special help with transport costs to Londoners in need.

## Cutting congestion
When introduced in 2003, the Congestion Charge succeeded in limiting increases in traffic levels in central London, improving road safety and reducing the costs to businesses of delays. However, particularly in peak periods, the level of vehicle traffic is rising again with the consequent increase in delays and costs. Both previous mayors watered down the purpose of the original scheme and neither Mayor has used the existing powers available to the GLA to tackle excessive work-place parking. So we will create a smarter, more flexible, fairer system of congestion charging that reflects what time you enter the zone.

### We will:
*   introduce smart charging - the base charge will be increased to £14 with an additional charge of £6 for entering the zone in peak times to discourage further driving into central London at the busiest times. All revenue will be ring-fenced to improve public transport.
*   retain the existing Autopay discount, remove the cost of registering and introduce a free, easy to use smartphone app. The charge for not paying within 24 hours will increase to £25.
*   add an additional charge of £2.50 on diesel vehicles using the Congestion Charge Zone to help reduce pollution
*   establish a Congestion Charge Zone around Heathrow Airport, working with borough councils on the boundaries, with charges, time periods and exemptions mirroring the central Congestion Zone
*   annually increase congestion charges sufficiently at least to keep pace with the rise in fares on public transport, so ensuring fairness between private commuters and those using public transport
*   introduce a work-place parking levy in central London - employers in central London and Canary Wharf will pay a levy of £3,000 per annum for each parking place they provide to their employees, with exemptions for categories such as Blue Badge holders and emergency services. Learning lessons from schemes in cities like Nottingham, this will deter large employers from providing perks for non-essential staff; employers who develop effective travel-to-work plans for all employees will gain a rebate. Essential workers will be exempt including

teachers, NHS staff, ambulance, police and fire
crews.

Other measures are needed to help free up roads, protect
ordinary motorists and improve health and the
environment.

### We will:
*   demand that government allows the roll out of lane
    rental schemes across London’s road network to
    reduce the disruption caused by road works and
    the congestion it causes, as current rules only
    cover half the busiest roads
*   introduce a peak-time ban on HGVs in central
    London and develop a London-wide strategy for
    reducing freight traffic on London’s roads, including
    greater use of consolidation centres and the use of
    the River Thames
*   maintain the door-to-door services provided by
    Dial-a-Ride, encouraging greater use and ensuring
    the system meets its users’ expectations
*   consult on whether road pricing for commercial
    vehicles at peak times should be considered, as set
    out in the current Mayor’s Transport Strategy
*   raise awareness of car clubs as a mainstream
    travel choice, by fully integrating car clubs into the
    TfL Oyster account and data platforms; and actively
    communicating and promoting “smart travel”
*   promote the development of a competitive market
    in EV car clubs, which have transparent, fair and
    properly regulated access to charging
    infrastructure.

## The Congestion Question

Caroline Pidgeon January 2016

glalibdems.org.uk/en/document/the-congestion-
question.pdf

## Improving London’s transport network
To relieve overcrowding, Transport for London must urgently speed up the work to increase capacity for passengers on the existing network and bring forward schemes to relieve pressure through rail improvements, trams and additional buses.

### We will:
*   complete the upgrade of all the Tube lines
*   support the Overground extension to Barking Riverside on the Gospel Oak to Barking line, now in planning stage
*   develop plans for additional tram, tube and rail services in areas currently underserved by public transport including:
    *   extending the Bakerloo line south to Southwark and then into Lewisham and Bromley
    *   extending the tram to Merton and Sutton
    *   seek to ensure the impact on London of the new high speed rail (HS2) is minimised, for example in Hillingdon, Ealing and in Camden, particularly around Euston
*   bring forward plans for Crossrail 2 to help with the increased passenger numbers from high speed lines coming into London, whilst supporting further consideration with TfL experts of some of the plans around stations such as Wimbledon, Balham and the Kings Road. We will ensure there is no loss of vital fast trains on other routes egSurbiton to Waterloo, and review the route so the line can serve Streatham.
*   seek to take over supervision of metro services – in effect sacking current operators South West Trains, Southeastern Trains and Southern who continue to perform badly

### In addition we will:
*   provide more express bus routes from the suburbs at peak commuter times to relieve pressure on overcrowded lines, and introduce more orbital bus routes to reduce the need to travel into central London
*   help to reduce overcrowding by encouraging a spread in travel patterns, including through our half price fares before 7.30 am and working with large employers to stagger work start times

* roll out free wifi on buses and at bus stops, working with sponsors and commercial providers, as part of our vision for digital London
* support local travel-to-work plans, such as those pioneered in Liberal Democrat-run Sutton, where the Smarter Travel Sutton plan achieved a 16% increase in bus ridership, 75% increase in cycling and 6% decrease in driving
* campaign for a fair share of money from the Government's programme to make stations more accessible and improve the accessibility of the whole transport network as part of upgrade work. Further details of our policies for disabled people can be found under ‘Fairness for All’ below

## Funding long-term investment

At a time of public sector constraints on what taxpayers can afford in direct subsidy, it is essential that Transport for London reduces its costs, maximises its existing assets and raises more investment resources from private sources supported by the current and potential increased revenue from greater ridership. Failures such as the Bombardier signalling contract will be reviewed to learn lessons and avoid future waste of money.

We will:
*   issue a London Transport Bond to raise additional funds to speed up investment, open not just to City financiers but ordinary Londoners who will get a real return on their savings as well as seeing a real improvement in services – like the municipal bonds of old and as other countries do today
*   rigorously benchmark costs of the current investment programme, comparing individual lines with benchmarks from the best international transport operators
*   place TfL’s assets like stations and vacant land into a dedicated London Property Agency, tasked with bringing forward developments above and around stations, improving the return on retail leases and partnering with developers to release the value from underused assets to put back into the transport system
*   pressure foreign embassies and diplomatic missions to pay what they owe in unpaid congestion charges

## Putting Londoners in charge
There is a democratic deficit at the heart of our transport network, with passengers’ voices not being heard loudly enough while both previous mayors have appointed their friends and cronies to the Transport for London board which has singularly failed to hold transport bosses to account.

## We will:
* give holders of Oystercards a real say in how their network is run, in the same way that big companies have to answer to their shareholders, by using existing personal contact details to consult through email votes, so transport bosses are made far more accountable to the fare paying Londoner
* ensure that ordinary Londoners – at least one pedestrian, cyclist, representative from disability groups and ordinary driver – are specifically represented on TfL’s project teams when plans are being drawn up for road junction remodelling and other major infrastructure changes
* stop militant trade unions holding the travelling public to ransom by referring industrial disputes to binding independent arbitration, once normal negotiations have broken down
* create a genuinely integrated London Commuter Service. We welcome the consultation announced in January 2016 concerning bringing all of London’s suburban railways under TfL control. This is something which Liberal Democrats have been demanding for years and will help to improve the shocking service on some commuter lines
* ensure the TfL Board is representative of Londoners

## Reducing pollution and investing in new technology

London’s buses, taxis and vans still mostly run on diesel. This should no longer be the case. Air pollution from traffic causes huge health problems and this must change. Diesel vehicles produce up to 20 times as many particulates and nitrogen oxides as petrol equivalents.

**We will:**
* speed up the introduction of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone by two years – starting in 2018 rather than 2020 – with additional charges for polluting vehicles. By 2024 small and medium size diesel vehicles will not be able to enter this zone which will be expanded to cover London inside the north and south circular roads.
* also by 2024 introduce charges for diesel vehicles in the Low Emission Zone to deter usage and promote a shift to cleaner vehicles
* increase the number of electric single decker buses in the London fleet and expand the planned trial for double deck electric buses, so that all new replacement buses will be fully electric, while existing hybrid buses will be modified to operate on electric power for more of their journeys
* speed up the shift to electric taxis through TfL bulk purchases to drive down the price and then lease or sell on to London’s taxi drivers and garages
* add a £2.50 diesel levy to the Congestion Charge central zone
* explore with manufacturers the setting up of a subsidy scheme to reduce the upfront capital costs for drivers needing to convert to electric vehicles

## Choice and safety with taxis and private hire

The Mayor and TfL have failed to keep up with the pace of technological change and regulate effectively the growing number of operators. Our priority is to maintain effective choice and protect passenger safety through tougher regulation and enforcement. Currently there are 22,500 licensed black taxis in London and approximately 100,000 licensed private hire vehicles (PHVs) - these have increased by half in the last two years contributing to London’s road congestion problems.

### We will:

*   double the number of dedicated taxi and private hire compliance officers to 165 by 2017 to ensure that PHV drivers are qualified, have full ‘hire & reward’ insurance and their vehicles are safe
*   ensure all PHV drivers take passengers with guide or assistance dogs, taking action where a driver has refused
*   explore the case for a cap on the number of PHVs in London
*   enable TfL to purchase a fleet of the new zero emission capable taxis and lease/sell them to taxi drivers and garages, as well as installing the rapid charging infrastructure needed for the taxis to operate effectively. Whilst welcoming the new zero-emission capable taxis due to be launched in 2017, we are concerned that price will be a barrier to uptake.
*   retain access to bus lanes by black cabs.

## Promoting walking

By developing better pedestrian schemes in our town centres and encouraging the growth of ‘green walkways’, we can make our town centres attractive places to shop, work and live. We welcome the strategy and proposals from “Living Streets” to make our streets safer for pedestrians, and the move to making 20mph streets the norm, which means that already one third of Londoners live on 20mph streets. Decluttering London’s streets, by removing excess signs and street furniture will also help in improving the local environment.

We will:
*   implement a bold plan to allow pedestrianisation of parts of central London – from Trafalgar Square up to Oxford Street
*   develop a ‘summer streets’ scheme, similar to New York, temporarily pedestrianising streets so encouraging people travel to their destinations in central London on foot
*   provide better signage to help people use pavements and footpaths – highlighting the 108 tube journeys that are actually quicker on foot
*   encourage walking, through incentives similar to store card loyalty schemes, using Oyster or smart phone technology
*   extend 20mph speed limits to dangerously busy streets controlled by TfL where Londoners live, work and play – so reducing accidents and saving millions from the health service budget alone
*   work with those London boroughs not yet implementing 20mph zones as the norm on borough roads, with the aim of making London a “City of 20”
*   ensure effective enforcement of 20mph limits through action by the Metropolitan Police
*   set ambitious targets to encourage walking to school
*   increase support for schemes like London’s Greenways, making them more attractive to use for recreational activities
*   invest in the renewal of town centres to create walkable neighbourhoods, building on the excellent community-led initiatives in Peckham and Tooting
*   improve crossings in London that are unsafe for visually impaired people. Disability access

standards must be met for every pedestrian
crossing.

## Encouraging cycling

Cycling has more than doubled over the last 10 years and is now an integral part of London’s transport network, but still only accounts for 2% of journeys made in London compared to 13% in Berlin and 48% in Amsterdam city centre.

### We will:

*   introduce a rush hour ban on HGVs: seven out of eight cycling fatalities in 2015 involved collisions with HGVs and 40% of cycling fatalities involving HGVs occur during rush hour
*   continue to support the cycle superhighways and also speed up the implementation of quietways
*   extend ‘mini-Holland’ projects, while learning the lessons about public engagement from the current schemes
*   increase the budget for cycling infrastructure to 3% of the TfL budget and ensure that money is spent - in 2014/15 £107m was allocated but only £60m spent
*   immediately review all major junctions and roundabouts to improve safety, including giving cyclists priority at junctions
*   introduce segregated cycle lanes where practicable
*   give much more support for people looking to start cycling, including cycle safety training, with every person attending a training course entitled, through sponsorship, to discounts on safety gear.
*   support a new pedestrian and cycling crossing between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf

Caroline Pidgeon was the first Mayoral candidate to endorse London Cycling Campaign’s Sign for Cycling campaign:

http://lcc.org.uk/articles/first-Mayoral-candidate-to-number-signforcycling-is-caroline-pidgeon

For more about our pledges on cycling, see:

http://lcc.org.uk/pages/liberal-democrat-Mayoral-candidates

## Making the Cycle Hire scheme work for all of London

Part of encouraging cycling is making the cycle hire scheme work much better but many find the casual users’ scheme too complicated. The Liberal Democrats first advocated a bike hire scheme in 2001 and want to make sure it works for the widest range of Londoners. Generating more income will come through greater usage by many more people.

### We will:

*   promote the scheme to groups who are not using it regularly, particularly women and younger adults who live in London
*   expand further to south London eg Rotherhithe and Bermondsey and further into north London too
*   ensure that contactless payment is extended to the scheme
*   increase the annual membership fee to non-Londoners
*   introduce special ‘limited edition’ bikes to celebrate key events such as Pride and so put some fun back into the scheme

## Better use of waterways
We want to enhance and improve London’s river services to become an integral part of the transport network. This can play a key role in reducing traffic, cutting harmful emissions and improving road safety.

### We will:
* integrate river services onto the transport map of London with better, bigger signage, clearer details on the tube map and full integration into the online Journey Planner
* ensure TfL takes river passenger services seriously, with a strategic plan and a dynamic team, coordinating the piers and river service operators
* promote the river as a means for servicing the construction of new developments along the river, taking the pressure off our overstretched roads, and minimising their environmental impact
* develop and expand the use of London’s canals, carrying more freight traffic, increasing leisure use, and developing better walking and cycling routes and accessibility
* put a river services champion on the TfL Board
* continue the existing River Action Plan and support the PLA’s twenty-year vision.

## Bridges and river crossings
There are currently nine bridges between Westminster and
Tower Bridge but none to the East until you reach the
Dartford Crossing. Blackwall Tunnel becomes very
congested and the Rotherhithe tunnel is very inhospitable
to cyclists and pedestrians. The east and south east of
London have very high levels of population growth and
significant potential for regeneration and development
which needs to be catered for in terms of infrastructure
including river crossings.

### We will:
*   support the Brunel Bridge, a proposed pedestrian
    and cycle bridge between Rotherhithe and Canary
    Wharf
*   continue the extension of the Gospel Oak to
    Barking Overground line beyond Barking Riverside
    to cross the river to Abbey Wood station
*   expand the Woolwich ferry and extend its opening
    hours, especially on Sundays when services are
    limited
*   significantly expand the river passenger services,
    particularly to piers at Rotherhithe and Convoys
    Wharf
*   bring the Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels
    under TfL control
*   oppose the proposed Silvertown tunnel which
    would exacerbate congestion at a cost of £1 billion
*   stop public funding for the proposed Garden Bridge
    and withdraw the commitment to underwrite the
    annual maintenance costs which was a planning
    condition by Westminster Council.

## Using air space wisely

We believe better use can be made of existing airport capacity in the south east and will continue to oppose both the construction of international airports on new sites and the expansion of existing London airports at Heathrow, Gatwick and City. We are also concerned about the growing noise in the skies of London from aviation including helicopters.

### We will:

- oppose any runway alternation plans at Heathrow and any increase in the number of night flights over London
- support airlines to review their slots at London’s airports, switching slots from short haul routes to servicing emerging long haul markets, to ensure they are being used in the smartest way, minimising empty flights
- use larger aircraft where appropriate to increase capacity to reduce the need for flights and cut down on congestion at existing airports
- work with central government to develop more alternative and sustainable forms of travel, through more investment in the rail network, including high speed rail
- support improvements to surface transport access to London’s existing airports including Stansted
- persuade central government of the need for much stronger control over the routes that commercial helicopters use and on the time restrictions, including a congestion charge on helicopters using scarce air traffic routes, especially for advertising.

## Improving Londoners’ environment and health
No one would dispute that an effective public transport
system is essential for the good functioning of London’s
economy. Less well recognised are the health and
environmental benefits that better public transport brings.
This manifesto will deliver a big switch to pollution-free
electric vehicles, a healthy increase in walking and cycling,
and achieve higher clean air standards.

As London’s population grows, life in our city will only be
sustainable and well-being maintained if we change the
way we move about. Renewable and low-carbon forms of
energy, including to power the Underground, are an
essential part of that. As restricted road space becomes
even more congested, the economic case for efficient
allocation will need to be reviewed. Already it makes no
sense for a commercial delivery van to cause traffic back-
ups at peak times, causing other road users to be late for
work.

**More jobs and growth - by staying at the heart of Europe**

**Making London work for everyone**

## More jobs and growth – by staying at the heart of Europe

Alongside the extreme wealth of the City live many people enduring some of the worst poverty and social deprivation in Britain. Go eight stops east on the Jubilee Line from Westminster and your life expectancy falls one year for every station. London is the most unequal region in the UK and the poverty rate is the highest (primarily due to high housing costs).

After 16 years and two mayors, such inequality remains a scandal. Underlying this record is the fact that unemployment in London at 6.3% is higher than the national average. Young people in particular get a raw deal, with youth unemployment at 17.2%, again higher than the national average. And yet London contributes far more a year in taxes to the national exchequer than we receive in public spending.

A Liberal Democrat-led GLA will persuade central government to recognise that the prosperity of the whole UK depends on a dynamic and socially-just London. And we set out below what a Liberal Democrat Mayor will do to boost employment, skills and incomes of Londoners and to reduce inequality.

But far more important than any measures which the Mayor might adopt to achieve these ends is what the country decides on June 23rd in the EU Referendum.

A decision to leave the EU would be devastating for London’s economy and the economic interests of Londoners. It is staggering that both the current London Mayor and the Conservative candidate for London Mayor have chosen to support Britain leaving the EU.

### Key facts

*   London has the second highest unemployment rate of all regions in the whole country, at 6.3%
*   Nearly 200,000 Londoners are actively seeking work and not finding it
*   London has the highest levels of worklessness among young people. Four in 10 children in inner London live in poverty
*   The majority of people living in poverty are in a working family - in the last decade the number of pensioners in poverty has fallen by 30% whereas

the number of working age adults in poverty has risen 30%.
* In 2014, 19% of employees were earning less than the London Living Wage, up from 12% in 2006

## London at the heart of the EU
The UK’s membership of the EU is a major draw for international companies setting up offices here. 100 of the world’s largest 250 companies have chosen London for their global headquarters, and 60% of top non-European companies with an HQ in Europe have located in London, including Facebook and Google. The role of the City of London as a global financial centre would be under real threat if the UK was no longer part of the EU. Completion of the European digital single market alone is estimated to be worth an additional 4% on European GDP.

An EY Attractiveness Report (May 2015) found that 31% of investors would either reduce or freeze their planned investments up to 2017 due to insecurity caused by the referendum. This can only get worse if Britain votes to leave the EU.

In addition, over the last decade the European Investment Bank has provided more than £7.3 billion for investment in London, at a lower cost than on open markets. The largest element was £6.1 billion to transform transport across London – feeding through ultimately to lower fares – including £1.5 billion for Crossrail tunnels and trains, and funding investment in the East London Line, London Overground, DLR, station renewal at Bank and Victoria and the cycle super highway network.

## Young Londoners - a great start in life
Central to our proposals for a thriving London economy are the needs of children and young people – improving schools, increasing opportunities for working parents and guaranteeing training and a job for school leavers.

Ensuring young people have a great start in life isn’t just the right thing to do; it will fuel and sustain London’s prosperity for years to come. We set out our proposals for young people and their parents in more detail in the next section.

## Diversity and equality
One sign of the dynamism in the London economy is the fact that more than one in three people in the London workforce was born outside the UK. However too many face discrimination and disadvantage. People with high qualifications from black and minority ethnic communities are paid 21% less than their white colleagues. Women in London are less likely to be in work and more likely to be in poverty than the rest of the UK.

Without specific action, inequality and discrimination will tend to get worse. That is why we will monitor the fairness impact of all policies and produce an annual report on progress towards reducing inequality. We will also use techniques such as name-blind recruitment processes to combat unintentional racism and sexism.

## Developing skills
The money spent in London each year on adult skills training must be brought fully under the control of the Mayor. A single pool of funds under a unified London employer-led approach is the best way to ensure Londoners are equipped for work. In sectors where London is strong (IT, travel and tourism) apprenticeship levels lag behind. Placements need to be aligned to our growth industries.

Nationally 9.5% of apprentices in England were from minority ethnic communities (2014/15) compared with 14% of the total working age population. In London take-up varies across communities and business sectors. Monitoring is needed of application success rates and job outcomes to understand the issue and take action.

We will:
*   work with central government to take responsibility for further and adult education in London so as to provide strategic oversight of investment in skills programmes in London
*   set up a one-stop-shop brokerage service between employers in London and apprenticeship candidates to match individual skills and interests with employer requirements across the capital
*   establish a London-wide careers service, devolved from central government, to work with schools and other education and training providers
*   appoint a new powerful Business Board to align skills development with the needs of business
*   insist each borough develops a training plan so the differing local needs in its own communities are identified, and make sure local libraries get involved in providing such training
*   involve the voluntary sector to improve the employability and skills of the most excluded and economically inactive Londoners. The Government’s Work programme has had limited success in London, but third sector organisations like the Shaw Trust and Peabody have been successful with programmes jointly funded by the European Social Fund
*   press the Government to make sure that migration targets based only on numbers don’t deprive London of the essential skills its role in the global economy requires

* use our proposed GLA Homebuilding company,
  supplemented by our state-of-the-art academy
  providing construction training to address the
  current shortage in skills.

## Creating jobs for Londoners

Under both previous mayors, London has suffered one of the highest rates of unemployment in the country despite all the opportunities that come from being the nation’s capital and the financial services centre of the world. The GLA has not done well in promoting job creation in London.

We will:

*   require that every contract awarded through the GLA includes a commitment from the winning bidders to provide at least 10% of new jobs associated with the contract for Londoners on training and apprenticeship schemes
*   seize the huge opportunities presented by Mayoral powers to create local enterprise zones and additional Mayoral development corporations, using business rates incentives to encourage new businesses
*   seek to diversify the London economy from its over-reliance on financial services, including promoting the creative industries and protecting manufacturing
*   examine the potential for the London Pension Fund Authority, the largest local government pension provider in London with £4.6 billion of assets under management, to play a greater role in promoting a sustainable London economy, consistent with its fiduciary duties.

## Supporting small business
London is home to the best financial services sector in the world, despite the costly mistakes which hit us all hard. To demonstrate their return to responsible business practices, we will challenge London’s banks and investment houses to create a London Small Business Fund so that no viable enterprise is prevented from expanding through lack of finance. We will also challenge all London’s big businesses to offer mentoring support and advice to small and medium sized enterprises and, crucially, to open up their contracting to London’s firms by publicising opportunities through the established CompeteFor platform.

London’s entrepreneurs need support and encouragement to grow their businesses and get people into work. The GLA must promote cost effective business support programmes, champion the needs of business, ensure business costs are kept low and promote London’s cultural, sporting and entertainment offer.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) research has shown that GLA group expenditure on SMEs was only around half the government target. That isn’t good enough.

## We will:
*   involve existing successful entrepreneurs in advising on ways to improve the business advisory services
*   establish a Small Business support team at City Hall working with the London FSB and work with them to ensure that all policies fully take into account their impact on SMEs
*   ensure that every small business has access to super-fast broadband and work with providers to eliminate “not-spots” for mobile phone and data coverage across London
*   seek government approval for a third party sponsorship route (London Visa) for established sector specific organisations to support non-EEA worker visas on behalf of recognised small businesses.
*   ensure that small business rate relief is clearly promoted to businesses which may be eligible for it
*   use the London Plan to deliver more small and start up business premises in new developments and oppose conversion of vital business premises to luxury flats, including permanent exemption beyond

2019 for Tech City and the Central Activities Zone
from permitted development rights to protect vital
workspace
*   challenge big companies to promote
    entrepreneurism, through contracting and
    mentoring, learning from work done in the inner city
    areas of the United States to help combat
    disadvantage and discrimination
*   demand that large companies give priority to local
    purchasing, to keep buying power in the London
    economy

## Growing the digital economy
London’s continuing competitive advantage depends on exploiting the potential of digital technologies. We support ideas for a ‘Cleantech Cluster’ in West London, thereby creating a business district for new low-carbon industries in the area covered by Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC). This will help create good jobs for the future and put London at the forefront of the fight against climate change.

City Hall can also set an example to others about the potential for ‘big data’ in both economic growth and service improvement.

To achieve our vision for Digital London, we will:
*   set up a Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics, on the model established in New York, led by a ‘digital ambassador’ - to put data science at the heart of decision making in City Hall
*   facilitate and encourage a common commitment to open data and innovation, involving London boroughs
*   pioneer new citizen-led services that are good for Londoners and will put London in the lead internationally
*   strongly support the roll-out of superfast broadband in London, to tackle ‘digital deserts’ where speed and connectivity fall well short of global standards
*   treat broadband as an essential utility in the planning and development process just like water, electricity and other services

## Promoting social enterprises and the voluntary sector
We see great potential in helping to develop a vibrant and dynamic third sector in the economy, neglected by both previous mayors. This includes mutuals, cooperatives, social enterprises and charities. This requires a Mayor and London Assembly committed to this new way of working if the opportunities are to be realised and barriers overcome.

### We will:
*   ensure that in future all GLA strategies actively consider how social enterprises and the voluntary sector can help in the delivery of outcomes
*   produce a social enterprise and voluntary sector strategy to guide policy in this area
*   support the growth of credit unions, as take-up is lower in London than cities like Manchester and Liverpool, and particularly encourage children’s savings accounts with a £5 starter contribution for secondary school pupils
*   ensure that the GLA’s commissioning practices do not discriminate against social enterprises and the voluntary sector, and facilitate their active participation
*   broaden the GLA’s digital inclusion strategy to ensure the voluntary sector and social enterprises are better connected

## Big business responsibility

For too long big business has had a free ride, demanding freedom from regulation, insisting on public investment in transport and paying its shareholders ever increasing returns, but not playing a responsible role as a partner in London’s development. Both previous mayors have failed to set the sort of expectation on big business that is routine in American cities.

### We will:

*   set up the business board to spearhead involvement of large employers in job creation and skills development
*   insist on local procurement wherever possible
*   name and shame large employers not paying the London Living Wage
*   encourage publication of pay ratios for firms employing more than 250 workers, covering overall pay rates and differences by gender and ethnicity

## Paying Londoners a fair wage
With all-party support, the GLA has taken a leading role in calculating the minimum level of wages it is possible to subsist on in London. By the end of 2015, over 700 employers were accredited as paying the London Living Wage, up from 400 the previous year, and they are reporting compensating benefits from increased staff retention and better performance.

We will:
*   make it part of all GLA employment and contracting that all staff and suppliers are paid at least the London Living Wage
*   encourage all boroughs to move rapidly to pay their own staff and suppliers the London Living Wage when contracts are re-let
*   set a clear expectation that all large employers in London pay the London Living Wage for their own staff and suppliers and avoid using zero-hour contracts and other exploitative labour practices – praising where warranted, and naming-and-shaming where necessary
*   explore the potential for the Government to have a higher legal minimum wage rate in London, following the logic of paying London weighting to reflect higher costs

## Helping high streets

To support our high streets, measures in this manifesto will enhance the appearance and viability of our town centres, improve transport access and ensure a safe environment to shop.

We will:
*   support smaller retailers by insisting boroughs have schemes to provide Business Rate relief and preferential rental values for small shops in at-risk high streets
*   ensure local communities are involved in how the GLA’s high street regeneration funds are allocated, rather than simply leaving councils to make the decisions
*   work with borough councils to ensure balanced high streets, for example to limit the proliferation of gambling establishments

## Promoting London

The UK has the largest creative sector in Europe and,
relative to GDP, one of the largest in the world. London’s
share of creative industries jobs is, at 32%, more than
twice its share of the UK economy as a whole. It provides
nearly 400,000 direct jobs and the same again in support
services.

We will:

- ensure London remains the place that the
  world comes to enjoy the best theatre and
  arts productions, as well as doing business
  with some of the most creative architects
  and computer companies in the world
- with London & Partners, host an official ‘one
  stop shop’ through which people from
  around the world can book accommodation,
  book theatre tickets and access maps and
  official guides
- actively market and promote the cultural
  activities organised by, and for, the wide
  range of London’s diverse communities

## Improving Londoners’ environment and health
London will only go on being prosperous and capable of sustaining the livelihoods of millions if it adapts rapidly to the big environmental challenges facing the global economy – such as rising raw material and energy costs and population pressures for available food – as well as from increasing overseas competition both from cheaper labour and from new technology.

The consulting firm, EY, estimates that at least £40billion of extra investment could be attracted to London, creating some 225,000 new jobs by 2025, if the opportunities to move to a low carbon economy are seized.

The London Sustainable Development Commission has already estimated that moving towards a ‘circular economy’ – one that extracts maximum value from resources through reuse – could create some 40,000 new jobs by 2030. Worth at least £7 billion a year, this market covers recycling, remanufacturing and rental models, focused on buildings, food, textiles, electricals and plastics.

## We will:
*   lead the digital revolution in London pushing for superfast broadband across the city and rolling out universal Wi-Fi access
*   challenge the financial services sector to invest in environmental technologies, using our zero waste commitment to drive development of jobs in energy-from-waste schemes like anaerobic digestion – the interest shown in schemes from the London Waste and Recycling Board shows the potential
*   develop plans to co-create a Green Investment Bank for London

## Young Londoners - a great start in life

**Making London work for everyone**

## Young Londoners - a great start in life

The foundations of a good start in life begin well before job prospects. Four in ten children grow up in households with incomes below the Government’s official poverty line, the highest rate of any region in England – that’s 650,000 children. Nearly 400,000 children live in overcrowded households, while high childcare costs can be a barrier to parents wanting to work. Young people are often vulnerable to crime, at risk from drug and alcohol problems, and their mental health and well-being comes under stress.

London’s schools have seen dramatic improvements in performance over the past 10-15 years and are now the envy of the rest of the UK. This improvement is down to the hard work of teachers, parents and the pupils themselves with the support of initiatives such as the Pupil Premium and free school meals for infant school pupils introduced by Liberal Democrats in government.

However, we cannot be complacent as London faces a school places crisis, particularly at secondary level, and the performance of our schools needs to improve even further if our young people are to thrive in an increasingly competitive labour market. Meanwhile central government is embarking on further institutional change, weakening the role of local authorities and moving to end parental involvement in governing bodies.

It is time for the GLA to take a strategic role in education in London, returning to a role the London County Council once played.

## Better schools, more places

Liberal Democrats see a good education as fundamental to happiness, welfare, good employment prospects and social mobility.

We will:
*   ensure a good school place of choice for every child, taking over responsibility from government for London’s school places and quality
*   co-ordinate the chaotic pattern of school places across borough boundaries and get London’s councils to work together to deliver more first choices for parents
*   use the London Plan process to ensure that more schools are delivered as part of redevelopment and regeneration schemes
*   appoint a London Schools Commissioner to lead improvements.

## Balancing Act – childcare for working parents

In London, just 63% of mothers are in employment, compared with 73% nationally, the lowest of any UK region (2013 figures). A parent in London with a child under 2 years old in nursery for 25 hours a week can now expect to pay £2,014 a year more than the average cost faced by parents across the country. These two facts are surely linked.

London’s working parents, especially women, need a better deal. The brain drain from London’s economy hurts us all. Caroline Pidgeon has developed a plan to close the maternal employment gap.

### We will:

*   extend wrap-around childcare for parents working long hours and train more child minders, funded through a new London Children’s Fund from a tourist levy of £2 per night on luxury hotel rooms
*   ensure that GLA land provided for school buildings comes with nursery provision where possible and offer GLA sites to existing local schools and developers on the
*   proviso that it will be used to provide childcare that meets local needs
*   urge London councils to extend business rate relief to childcare providers and consider offering a discount on business rates for employers that already offer childcare on site or fund a local provider
*   audit current school provision of breakfast and after school clubs; where availability is poor, identify potential providers, linked where possible with community sites
*   require the London Enterprise Panel to focus on maternal unemployment in line with priority nine of its ‘London 2036: an agenda for jobs and growth’ strategy and to prioritise projects that provide childcare or improve maternal employment when allocating London funding from the European Union
*   promote a citywide childcare loan scheme for London’s 320,000 single parents
*   set employment practices at City Hall to act as a model for best practice, including flexible working and annualised hours

For more on Caroline’s plan to close the maternal
employment gap, see:

The Balancing Act: Making childcare work for working
parents

Caroline Pidgeon March 2016
www.carolinepidgeon.org/files/docs/thebalancingact.pdf

## Improving life-chances for young Londoners
The support young Londoners need goes far beyond school or childcare. Nothing short of a new focus from City Hall on the life chances of the next generation will meet the growing challenge.

### We will:
*   set up an independent taskforce to ensure that effective action is taken to reduce child poverty in London
*   commit to work with boroughs to halve the number of children living in overcrowded housing by 2020
*   produce an annual report on progress to improve the life chances of young Londoners and involve young people in decision-making which affects them
*   encourage and work with boroughs to keep their own, and if possible expand, youth facilities
*   protect the current travel and fare concessions for children, young people and students
*   support the extension of the right to vote in all future London elections to 16 year olds
*   make London a healthier place in which to grow up, focusing on improved air quality, health inequalities and better mental health services for young people.

Our policies to promote the growth of the London economy, set out in the previous section, will especially benefit young people – from boosting their financial skills in school through credit unions, through providing advice on careers when leaving school, to helping with training and a first job through our one-stop-shop apprenticeship broker service.

**Diverse London - working for everyone**

**Making London work for everyone**

## Fairness for all – promoting diversity and combating discrimination

London is the most diverse and the most unequal city in the United Kingdom. People with high qualifications from black and minority ethnic communities are paid significantly less than their white colleagues. Women in London are less likely to be in work and more likely to be in poverty than the rest of the UK, while women in work earn less than men on average, even more so than in the rest of the country.

Too many people are not just denied opportunities but face discrimination on grounds of their age, ethnicity, faith, gender, sexuality, gender identity or disability. That is why many of the policies in this manifesto specifically aim to reduce inequality and help combat discrimination – such as creating more opportunities for young people, promoting the London Living Wage, building more affordable housing, encouraging mixed communities through planning policy and supporting a healthy environment.

Without such direct intervention, both inequality and discrimination will tend to get worse. Under the Liberal Democrats, City Hall will monitor the fairness impact of all policies and produce an annual report on progress towards reducing inequality.

## Mainstreaming, not sidelining

In the name of mainstreaming, the current Mayor abolished many of the previous provisions to monitor and promote diversity. The result has been to sideline attention to the very real institutional barriers and discrimination which large numbers of Londoners face. As just one example, the current 16 strong board of Transport for London comprises 13 men, 3 women, and no members of London’s black and minority ethnic communities.

Women make up the majority of Londoners. The plans in this manifesto will therefore directly benefit them. But we know that this is not always enough, which is why some actions are specifically aimed at addressing their needs or changing systems which discriminate. Just one example is our commitment to conduct and publish pay audits to highlight gender imbalances inherent in many workplaces, including in the GLA.

The same is true of people from black and minority ethnic communities, where ‘minority’ is increasingly a misnomer in neighbourhoods across London. The recent Runnymede Trust report, Ethnic Inequalities in London, found widespread and persistent inequalities across differing boroughs, particularly in employment and housing, while also noting variations according to wealth. It concluded inequalities ‘will not disappear by themselves’.

Accordingly, some of our plans are focused specifically on overcoming discrimination or disadvantage. Measures to change the composition, leadership and performance of the police service are an example here.

These actions are ‘mainstreamed’ throughout our approach, along with the measures necessary to ensure they are no longer sidelined.

## Serving older people
London is often seen as a city for young people, but increasingly it is being recognised that urban areas, particularly town centres, are well suited to the needs of older people, with excellent public transport and healthcare, accessibility to leisure and cultural pursuits and more limited demands for private green space. We will work to ensure that London is an Age-Friendly City, but also ensure that if people’s health deteriorates and/or they get dementia that their needs are properly catered for.

### We will:
*   continue to protect the Freedom Pass and the 60+ London Oyster photocard
*   work to ensure a better mix of housing sizes and tenures and promote options such as co-housing and home sharing
*   maintain the current London Plan commitment that all new homes are built to the Lifetime Homes standard with 10% built to wheelchair housing standards
*   promote inclusive design across London’s built environment and businesses ensuring
*   that our capital city is accessible for everyone to enjoy
*   work with Age UK and other groups to implement their proposals for digital inclusion and ensure London transport is accessible for all
*   work with the third sector and business to ensure that older people can make full use of opportunities for flexible working and voluntary work as they transition towards retirement, rather than face a sudden shift from employment to retirement
*   work with the boroughs, other statutory bodies and the Alzheimer’s Society towards London becoming the first dementia friendly capital city in the world by 2020
*   appoint an Older Person’s Champion in the Mayor’s office at City Hall, to ensure these policies are acted upon

We support calls to make London a dementia friendly city, and in particular support the call for action from Race Against Dementia, so that services are culturally acceptable. We will improve the support and understanding given to people from black, Asian and

minority ethnic communities living with dementia and their
relatives and carers, including information on dementia and
ageing well strategies.

For further information, see:

http://www.ageuklondonblog.org.uk/2016/03/14/Mayoral-
candidate-blog-caroline-pidgeon/

## Access and equality for people with a disability

We strongly believe that London should be a far more accessible and equal place for people with a disability. Liberal Democrats on the London Assembly have been working on aspects as diverse as increasing accessibility on the transport network, improving safety of pedestrian crossings and protecting the Dial-a-ride service.

We will:
*   continue progress to deliver more step free London Underground stations and for mobile ramps made available at more London Underground stations, so as to deliver truly step free access from street level to the carriage
*   ensure TfL actively informs disabled passengers when step free access is not available at a TfL station which normally has such provision, including highlighting the existing provision that a taxi can be offered to the nearest available step-free station enroute or to the customer's final destination if it is more practical
*   demand that more commuter train franchises be controlled by TfL, to help ensure that the higher standards of access provided by London Overground are extended to many more train lines
*   maintain the important service provided by Dial-a-Ride and seek improvements so that variations in the level of service provision in different boroughs are addressed
*   support a flourishing black taxi industry given that every vehicle is fully wheelchair accessible and ensure the PHV duty to take guide and assistance dogs is enforced
*   seek stronger enforcement of TfL’s contracts with the bus companies concerning repeated complaints about ramps not operating
*   extend the number of information points with induction loops and learn from TfL’s trial of open technology standards, based on a system that uses audio instructions to assist visually impaired people to move around stations, so that this technology can be rolled out across stations rapidly

We will also:
* at least maintain the present accessible housing policies currently laid out in the London Plan of ensuring all new build developments meet minimum Lifetime Homes standards, and with a minimum 10% of developments being wheelchair accessible
* actively encourage more London employers to adopt bolder policies relating to flexible working, including greater use of home working
* use the office of Mayor of London to help publicise campaigns for take up of eligible benefits, with special attention to ensuring disabled people and their carers are aware of benefits they are entitled to which often go unclaimed.

For further information, see:

http://www.disabilitytalk.co.uk/caroline-pidgeon/

## LGBT+ communities
London is home to people from many different backgrounds who come together as one of the most diverse and tolerant cities in the world. London's LGBT+ community is a vital part of our city's appeal and success, and the London Liberal Democrats have a long and proud history of supporting and championing it. The LBGT+ community have specific concerns and needs.
We will:
*   recognise the health needs of London’s LGBT+ population and promote specialist support services tailored to their needs including greater investment in mental health services
*   reverse recent cuts to hate crime policing posts and develop a London-wide strategy for reporting, investigating and prosecuting hate crime
*   support campaigns being led by local LGBT communities, such as those to save Camden's Black Cap and the Royal Vauxhall Tavern from development, and work to ensure the development of places such as Soho is not done at the expense of LGBT communities or history
*   recognise that London's homeless young people who identify as being LGBT have higher rates of suicide attempts/self-harm and will ensure their needs are met through our homebuilding programme, including supporting voluntary organisations who are working to end street homelessness with a pathway into secure housing, new skills and a permanent job
*   guarantee to continue funding Pride at the current level of £100,000 for the whole of the next Mayoral term

## A fair city?

The goal of this manifesto is a London that works for
everyone, regardless of background or circumstance –
fairness for all. That is why we welcome the formation of
the London Fairness Commission – chaired by Lord Victor
Adebowale and comprised of experts from across the
worlds of business, research, health and charity – which
has been consulting widely about how to make London a
fairer city.

Caroline Pidgeon has endorsed many of its findings. She
agrees the Mayor of London should be responsible for the
fairness of London and this should be made transparent by
developing and publishing an annual ‘London Fairness
Index’, which could be used to monitor progress.

The Commission’s most important recommendations are
included in this manifesto. In addition, we endorse the call
for a new ‘philanthropic age’ and will review the role of the
Mayor’s Fund, opening a dialogue with business and
wealthy donors to increase giving and re-focus the Fund
on the most disadvantaged.

**Green, clean and healthy**
Making London work for everyone

## Green, clean and healthy

It is vital for London’s future - short, medium and long term - that we live in a more sustainable way.

Action is needed in the short term because nearly 10,000 people are dying prematurely every year in London due to exposure to air pollution, making bad air quality the second biggest public health risk facing Londoners after smoking. Over 320,000 children attend schools in London within 150 metres of a busy road which dramatically increases the risk of developing or exacerbating childhood asthma. Areas like Oxford Street have amongst the worst air pollution in Europe. London’s pollution levels are also illegal, breaching UK and EU law by large margins, particularly in central London and around Heathrow.

Action is also needed in the longer term because climate change will make places like London even more vulnerable to severe weather such as floods, droughts and heat waves, as well as threatening the stability of the global economy on which London depends.

The outgoing Mayor set a target to reduce London’s carbon emissions by 60% by 2025 (from a 1990 baseline) but so far it has only reduced by 1% (far worse than the

UK’s performance). He also set a target to retrofit 1.2 million homes with energy saving measures by 2015 but to date less than half that total have been retrofitted. London currently has the lowest amount of installed solar power capacity of any region in the UK, despite having amongst the greatest potential to generate solar power.

It is estimated that the way we live in London today uses resources as though there were three planets, not simply the one we have. London’s economy will thrive in a future where “we meet more of our needs from local, renewable and waste resources and enable Londoners to enjoy a high quality of life within their fair share of the earth's resources” – the ‘one planet living’ vision developed by London-based Bioregional with the environmental charity, WWF.

Using fewer resources means our plans will also reduce the cost of living, especially fuel bills, create more jobs, improve Londoners’ health, clean up the city, reduce the risk of extreme weather from climate change and help make London more resilient to future energy and food shortages.

## Key facts

*   London creates millions of tonnes of waste a year, yet householders only recycle 34% of their waste, compared with 43% in the rest of the country
*   Air pollution is the second biggest killer in London after smoking, contributing to more than 9,500 premature deaths a year
*   One in ten households suffers from fuel poverty – over 300,000 households spend more than 10% of their income after tax and housing costs on energy
*   1.25m people live at risk from tidal or fluvial flood risk, with many more at risk of surface water flooding

## Clean healthy air

Air pollution in the capital is the worst in the UK for dangerous airborne particles (PM10 and PM2.5). We have the highest annual nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels of any city in Europe. This pollution has a serious health impact: it causes thousands of premature deaths and makes respiratory conditions such as asthma worse. The Campaign for Clean Air in London has championed what needs to be done. But both previous mayors have failed to rise to the challenge and take the action needed to meet legal and health limits.

### We will:

*   revise the Air Quality Strategy to set out exactly what needs to be done and by whom to achieve clean healthy air for Londoners – where this requires action by government we will campaign hard for change
*   focus on cleaning up transport, with restrictions and penalties, so the oldest, most polluting diesel vehicles are deterred from driving where the pollution problems are worst; speeding up the conversion of buses and taxis to cleaner engines, and promoting alternatives like cycling and walking
*   work for long term changes to the built environment and to new developments to reduce emissions from construction and from boilers
*   raise public awareness about the health crisis, as it especially affects young people and older citizens, making sure that all boroughs - and within that all schools - have air quality improvement plans and effective monitoring
*   promote awareness directly from City Hall, issuing pollution alerts and tweeting daily warnings
*   achieve a rapid increase in the number of electric vehicles on our streets, focused on high mileage buses, taxis and light goods vehicles. This will cut exhaust pollution and help meet CO2 reduction targets.

## Zero carbon London
The London Array of wind turbines off the Kent coast – the largest in the world – already provides enough electricity to power 1.2 million households – equivalent to one in three Londoners. Developments on this scale show what is possible given ambition. Liberal Democrats set a bold target for London to become zero carbon by 2035. This can be achieved through changes to primary fuel sources, cutting wasted energy and substantially reducing consumption. This will cut carbon emissions and save households money.

### We will:
* promote decentralised energy systems, combined heat and power schemes and on-site renewables such as solar panels, benefiting from the national feed-in tariffs and renewable heat incentives
* increase the amount of energy generated by anaerobic digestion through waste-to-energy projects, promote local hydroelectric schemes on the River Thames and significantly expand the use of water source heat pumps in new developments using temporary abstraction of water from the Thames, as pioneered by the Kingston Heights development
* expand retrofitting schemes to see existing stock brought up to modern day standards
* work with the Government and local councils to ensure that when homes are expanding their floor space and hence potential carbon footprint, they are required to carry out energy saving improvements to the rest of the property. This is an approach adopted by Lib Dem councils such as Stockport and Uttlesford (when Lib Dem led).
* insist that a fair share of the new national energy company obligation is ring-fenced for London which is currently losing out
* establish a London energy company supplying to domestic consumers, similar to the initiatives being pursued in Nottingham and Bristol
* work with boroughs to ensure that wherever feasible renewable district heating schemes

are adopted for all significant new housing developments
*   set a target to roll out solar across an equivalent of close to 200,000 London rooftops by 2025 and argue for a higher feed in tariff regime for London. Delivering 750MW of solar power by 2025 would increase London's solar capacity by tenfold over the next 10 years – bringing huge benefits to millions of people across the capital, including lower bills, new jobs and investment and cleaner, greener energy to power our city.
*   use the purchasing power of TfL to commission additional renewable generating capacity so the Underground can become sustainably powered
*   oppose any proposals for fracking within Greater London.

## Zero waste London

The very idea of rubbish being thrown away should be a thing of the past. A great city like London cannot afford to waste its waste. We must set a long term goal of a ‘closed loop’ approach, whereby use of materials is reduced, reused where possible and recycled for further use. But in 2014/15 London’s recycling rate stood at 33%, a 1% fall on the previous year’s performance at a time when the amount we recycle should be increasing substantially.

We will:
*   work with boroughs to set tough targets for reducing the amount of waste produced by individuals and businesses in the capital and for reuse and recycling by boroughs and disposal authorities
*   encourage every borough to introduce food waste collections as a step towards a comprehensive system of separate wet and dry collections
*   support moves by manufacturers to minimise packaging and simplifying the mix of plastics entering the waste stream
*   improve recycling rates from flats by re-establishing the Flats Recycling Programme - their recycling rate is currently only 10% when they account for nearly 50% of London’s housing stock
*   challenge branded goods companies to fund ‘on the go’ recycling collections so people can recycle their waste when out-and-about, requiring TfL to take a lead on its property
*   promote a London-wide online swap-shop, modelled on the Freecycle scheme, so Londoners can more easily offer their unwanted goods for reuse, not waste
*   provide regulatory certainty and so attract private finance to invest in waste infrastructure

## Green lungs, good design
Two-thirds of London’s land area is occupied by green space and water. Of this about a third is private gardens, a third is public parks or sports spaces and a third consists of other wildlife habitats. There are over 8 million trees in London. For all the social and economic benefits which make London such a great place to live, our open spaces still suffer from a lack of investment and are often poorly protected from new development. We must protect these vital green lungs which previous generations of London government have fostered.

## We will:
*   support the campaign for a Greater London National Park
*   set up a GLA Parks Agency to work with the Royal Parks, the Corporation of London, the Wandle Valley Regional Park and the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority to enhance London’s ‘green lungs’ – protecting and improving green spaces such as Hampstead Heath and Crystal Palace and increasing accountability to parks users
*   establish a London Metropolitan Parks Festival, to promote and regenerate one of London’s major metropolitan parks every 4 years.
*   create a year-long festival of cultural and sporting events to celebrate the benefits of green assets to the community and bring in funds to improve the fabric of our parks
*   appoint a London ‘green infrastructure’ commissioner in City Hall, accountable to the Mayor
*   insist on the highest standard of green design in planning and development across the capital, ensuring that London’s beauty is enhanced, promoted and preserved
*   work with the boroughs, Royal Parks and local community groups to plan for an extra 100,000 trees by 2020, concentrating on areas with the least tree cover and greatest threat from heat island effects
*   protect school playing fields from being built over and lost to Londoners.

## One planet living

Living more sustainably requires all Londoners to find ways to reduce our environmental footprints and use scarce resources more efficiently. With visionary leadership, this can become a boost to the London economy, creating new jobs and saving money.

### We will:

*   pressure Thames Water and its regulator Ofwat to speed up the replacement of historic water mains, to reduce further the extent of water leakage. Currently more than a quarter of London’s water is lost in leakage between the water treatment plant and tap at a time when London faces a growing shortage of water.
*   bring forward the target date for roll-out of water metering, with a fair tariff scheme to protect vulnerable customers in particular
*   pressure government to make the GLA a statutory consultee by all the economic regulators such as Ofwat, Ofgem and Ofcom, with a duty to have regard to the

GLA’s views, so that environmental sustainability is added to the factors they include when setting price caps
*   promote more food growing in in and around London to reduce ‘food miles’ and increase London’s resilience
*   support the move to Fair Trade across London.

## Promoting health
One of the Mayor’s little known duties is to promote the health of Londoners and to produce a statutory strategy to reduce health inequalities. Liberal Democrats want to see health promotion taken more seriously than either of the two previous mayors has shown, with action to reduce the scandalous health inequality across London. TB and HIV are just two diseases that after many years of falling rates are back on the rise. Greater awareness and improved access to facilities and treatment incentives are needed. These are clear examples of where joint working and promotion could make a real difference.

The London Health Board provides one vehicle to achieve more, working with boroughs, using the London health devolution agreement as a starting point. Borough-level Health and Wellbeing Boards set up under the Health and Social Care Act provide another opportunity to improve Londoners’ health, and the GLA must take a lead to ensure a pan-London approach to strategic needs.

At a time when northern cities in England are gaining greater responsibility, London should be in the forefront of devolution. So we will continue to press for the GLA to have additional powers to promote health in London, monitor performance in our NHS hospitals and involve Londoners in the decision-making process as London’s hospital and medical centres are reconfigured to ensure a 21st century National Health Service. We will also press the Government for the Mayor to have responsibility for the ambulance service as the GLA has for other emergency services.

Proud to represent you in Government
represent you in Government
represent you across London

**Active London - London at play**

**Making London work for everyone**

## London at play
London is one of the great cultural capitals of the world. Our theatres, museums, galleries and sporting venues play a vital role in city life and help make London a vibrant and attractive place in which to live, work, visit and play.

These assets support the creativity, diversity and spirit of innovation that typifies London. They also underpin many of the creative industries which thrive in London – fashion and design, communications and publishing, software and games. Together they provide employment for an estimated 800,000 people. London’s share of employment in creative industries is, at 32%, more than twice its share of the UK economy as a whole.

## Improving access
Despite this record, the fact is that our great sporting and cultural assets need to be more open to all Londoners. Liberal Democrats want to improve the choice and accessibility of recreational facilities for all residents and visitors. We also wish to ensure that London’s cultural industries workforce across theatre, film, television and radio reflects the diversity of the communities it serves, which it has conspicuously failed to do under both Labour and Conservative mayors.

## We will:
*   maintain an active events programme, led by the GLA in coordination with partners, celebrating the diverse culture and vibrant communities of London
*   work with boroughs and others to highlight the economic and social benefits that cultural activities bring to local communities
*   promote access for all Londoners, not just those living near the great central London facilities, working especially with outer London boroughs, so young people are not deterred by price or from false elitism
*   encourage greater attendance at borough and fringe theatres, not just the established central venues, and develop an Arts in the Park programme, showcasing opportunities and removing petty bureaucratic barriers
*   continue to support the Museum of London into its new home and work with them to secure the future of the historical ‘blue light’

collections – including keeping open the
Fire Service Museum until a permanent
home is developed.

## To encourage greater diversity in cultural industries, we will:
*   discuss with the national houses, such as the Royal Opera House and National Theatre, and the major West End theatre employers how they plan to improve the diversity of their workforces, both performers and backstage, including the issue of integrated casting
*   press Ofcom to follow the example of the Arts Council of England and the British Film Institute and require each commercial broadcaster who is awarded a licence to collect and report equality monitoring data of their workforces.

## We will also:
*   work with London’s football clubs to open up access so that taking the family to watch a match becomes more affordable.
*   develop a new annual London Games, working with amateur sports associations, so disabled and able-bodied sportsmen and women compete at borough and London levels, just as the London Youth Games and London Marathon inspire mass participation
*   encourage the ‘play streets’ movement to reclaim streets from traffic, so that all London children have the freedom to play as part of their growth and development
*   support initiatives such as the RideLondon cycle initiative.

## Cultural diversity
We will continue to promote inclusion and equality in all aspects of London’s life. We will support events and activities that embrace, celebrate and welcome all the communities that make London the great diverse city that we are. Events like St Patrick’s Day, Pride and the Notting Hill Carnival bring many visitors to London, as well as being enjoyed by Londoners, and should continue to be offered help to run and thrive. We will continue to ensure Trafalgar Square is available for major events. Smaller scale events in local communities can have equal benefit and should be welcomed and encouraged.

# Making London work for everyone
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