Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Caroline Pidgeon has promised to create a London “that works for everyone” if she’s elected to succeed Boris Johnson next month.
Ms Pidgeon made the pledge on a visit to Deptford where she was joined by supporters and party activists for the launch of her manifesto.
Her policies include setting up a City Hall-owned construction company to help deliver 200,000 new homes, including 50,000 council homes, over the next four years.
To help fund the homes Londoners would be asked to continue paying the £20 surcharge on their council tax which was first introduced a decade ago to help pay towards the cost of hosting the 2012 Olympic Games.
Other policies include halving Tube fares for those travelling before 7.30am, the introduction of a new one hour bus ticket and improving public transport safety by recruiting 3,000 extra police.
Pidgeon has also promised to tackle London’s poor air quality by introducing a new congestion charge around Heathrow airport, boosting the number of electric vehicles and introducing the Ultra-Low Emission Zone in 2018 – two years earlier than planned.
Ms Pidgeon said: “This manifesto sets out how we Liberal Democrats would create a London that works for everyone.
“It’s optimistic about the future, and about the power of the Mayoral office to make a difference to every Londoner’s life.”
Seeking to contrast her “fully costed” policies with the big-ticket giveaways promised by some of her rivals, Pidgeon added: “We show that you don’t have to preach fantasy economics to promise change.”
Londoners will elect a new Mayor and the 25 members of the London Assembly on May 5th. Candidates for Mayor include Conservative Zac Goldsmith, Labour’s Sadiq Khan, Liberal Democrat Caroline Pidgeon, the Green party’s Sian Berry and UKIP’s Peter Whittle.
