Caroline's news

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

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

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

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

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

Commenting on the Conservative Shadow Minister for London's revelation that a government led by David Cameron could scrap the Crossrail project, Caroline Pidgeon commented:

The Conservatives are all over the place when it comes to Crossrail.

The Conservative Mayor of London never tires of boasting about his support for the project and Conservative run Kensington and Chelsea Council are even demanding a further new station which will add to the cost of the project.

Yet at the same time a London Conservative MP, speaking on behalf of the national party, is simply unable to provide a clear assurance that this much needed project will be completed.

You can read more about the story at Adam Bienkov and Chris Underwood's blogs.

In an Evening Standard article on Boris Johnson's failure to meet his election pledge to extend Tube opening hours on Friday and Saturday nights, Caroline Pidgeon comments:

Extending Tube opening hours across the whole underground on Friday and Saturday nights was one of the most high-profile promises that Boris Johnson made to Londoners to secure his election. Yet so far he has not added a minute to the opening hours of even one line.

Caroline attended a special Ibero-American event at the Elephant and Castle on Sunday 11th April, speaking to thousands of Londoners.

Caroline stressed the need for people to register to vote and to use their vote.

“Only the Liberal Democrats have the big ideas for fundamental structural changes in the way our country works to make it fair” commented Caroline.

Caroline also highlighted Gloria Gormez and Fernanda Correia Sefzick who are standing in Princes Ward and Stockwell Ward in Lambeth.

In the Evening Standard, Ross Lydall reports on calls for the current works on Albert Bridge to continue 24 hours a day, in order to shorten its 18-month closure.

Caroline Pidgeon is quoted in the article, saying:

If London’s gridlock is to be seriously tackled we need to think of imaginative ways to ensure roadworks and repairs to bridges are carried out far more quickly. Work carried out around the clock could play a key role in ensuring far less grief and disruption for Londoners.