London Assembly Liberal Democrats

The loss of 12 fire stations and 18 fire engines is totally unacceptable claim the Liberal Democrat Group on the London Assembly.

In a formal response to the London Fire Brigade's consultation on the draft London Safety Plan they repeat their opposition to the loss of fire stations and engines across London, highlighting how it will lead to increased responses times for many Londoners.

Stephen Knight, Liberal Democrat London Assembly budget spokesperson, commenting on the London Finance Commission report published today:

"I welcome this report as it sets out a number of practical proposals for moving away from the current centralised system where the Exchequer redistribute nearly all of the taxation paid in London.

Stephen Knight AM, Liberal Democrat London Assembly environment spokesperson commenting ahead of the Mayor's visit to Northern Ireland on Friday 10^th May to publicise his decision to purchase 600 new buses for London from the company Wrightbus, at a cost of £354,500 per bus said:

"The repeated claim that the New Bus for London is the cleanest diesel hybrid double-decker bus might be strictly true, but it totally overlooks the fact that it is still a diesel powered vehicle. Diesel hybrid vehicles are simply not the cleanest form of technology for buses that is available.

Stephen Knight AM, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly environment spokesperson, commenting on the Supreme Court decision today to declare that there has been a breach of article 13 of the Air Quality Directive and to refer the case against the Government to the Court of Justice of the European Union, said:

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on reports today that Transport for London plan to shut the Jubilee Line for more than 30 days through central London due to acidic water eating into the tunnels walls said:

"Instead of over 18 months of repeated weekend and holiday closures I question whether one intensive block closure perhaps in August would be both cheaper and less disruptive.

Caroline Pidgeon, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the news that construction work has now started on the south west expansion of the bike hire scheme said:

"It is great news that by Christmas the bike hire scheme will be operating in new areas in Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Lambeth and Kensington and Chelsea.

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on the Mayor's Police and Crime Plan said:

"These proposals are a return to the bad old days of policing.

"The Mayor is planning to decimate dedicated Safer Neighbourhood Teams and return to 'sector' policing which failed so many communities across London.

"At the same time the closure of 63 police front counters will dramatically reduce the ability of many Londoners to access the police, especially when reporting some of the most serious forms of crime."

"To add insult to injury we are still being denied the full details of how the new contact points will operate, especially the hours they will actually be open

"We are still no clearer about where these contact points will be. Some will only open for 3 hours a week which is not like for like replacement as the Mayor has previously promised. This has been a flawed consultation over a totally flawed plan."

ENDS

The Mayor of London has been challenged by Stephen Knight, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly environment spokesperson, to ensure schools are sent dedicated information and health advice when air pollution reaches dangerous levels. The challenge was made at Mayor's Question Time, held at City Hall.