Making it Happen in London

The Mayor of London needs to have the right strategies for growing London's economy, attracting inward investment and top talent to the capital.

It is the role of the 25 London Assembly members to scrutinise the Mayor's work, holding him to account and to look after the interest of all Londoners.

Whether concerning planning, provision of affordable housing, or delivery of the London Olympics, we need to stay on top of the game. At the same time we must create new jobs for our young people, ensure our streets are safe, our air clean and environment green.

Merlene says: "My priorities for London Assembly are:

1. Investment in London and Londoners - I have a fresh vision for London as thriving metropolis, global financial centre and cultural capital. We must strive to create new jobs and opportunities for our young people and ensure any temporary skills gap can be filled by a more flexible immigration policy. I have in recent years visited 2 of our Mayor's overseas offices and know there is potential for more trade as well as foreign direct investment into London and the UK. Cuts in public services may be part of the solution of reducing our deficit but the flip-side is wealth creation through investment in our infrastructure such as cross-rail and in our workforce through education and training.

2. To keep our distinct identity as Liberal Democrats - we need to ensure Liberal Democrat values and principles are embedded into the work and thinking of the London Assembly. These include the protection of civil liberties in our strategies for policing and the emphasis on our environment when approving future sustainable development. We must also strive to deliver public services which are value for money, fair allocation of public resources and to always keep in mind the most vulnerable amongst us so that noone is left behind in our big society.

3. To give a voice to all Londoners - I have through Chinese Liberal Democrats and BC Project succeeded in encouraging greater political awareness amongst my community and have worked with the Electoral Commission and the Electoral Reform Society to reach out to other difficult to reach segments of society. As a member of Nick Clegg's "New Generation", we are working to have politicians who reflect modern Britain in the 21st Century. However I also believe in speaking up for all Londoners, not just the under-represented, after all we have this in common: the desire to raise the quality of life for ourselves and the next generation in a place which we are proud to call our home.

Thank you for your support. Together we can make it happen!"

ON HOUSING

London desperately needs more affordable homes. Despite falls in house prices, home ownership is still out of reach of most Londoners on low and middle incomes.

The GLA's 2008 London Strategic Housing Market Assessment concluded that at least 32,600 new homes are needed every year to meet demand, yet in 2009/10,

just 60% of the Mayor's annual target for all new homes were built.

The Mayor must now set a benchmark for affordable housing to deliver the homes this city so desperately needs. Whilst the previous 50% affordable housing target was often not met, I believe a benchmark for affordable housing provision is needed so that developers know what is expected of them, and more importantly, so that progress can be monitored.

Urgent action is also needed to bring London's empty homes back into use. More than 800,000 people are currently waiting for affordable housing in London and a similar number are living in overcrowded homes, yet some 75,000 homes are standing empty across the capital.

The Mayor has committed to carry out an audit of vacant homes across London so that funding can be targeted at those in the worst state of repair, but this must be taken even further. I urge the Mayor to extend his audit to take into account flats over shops and other commercial premises which could be converted into much needed homes too!

ON POLICING

Despite his election promises to make crime fighting his top priority, the Mayor is set to slash City Hall funding to the Met Police by £16.4 million by 2010/11, resulting in the loss of at least 500 police officers from London's streets.

In addition, each of London's 32 Borough Commanders have been instructed to make a 5% saving in their budget which is likely to come from a reduction in civilian staff, meaning police officers will be faced with additional office based duties, taking them away from the front-line.

I believe that reductions in unnecessary spending must be made but this cannot come at the expense of front-line policing. The Liberal Democrat Assembly Members proposals are backed by detailed calculations, based on figures taken from the Met's own published costings, and would fund an extra 246 police officers to tackle gun and knife crime; double the numbers of officers dedicated to tackling child trafficking and reverse the cuts that the Mayor is forcing Borough Commanders to make in their local budgets.

These proposals would be funded by abolishing chauffeurs and limousines for senior officers, saving over £1.6 million; stopping business and first-class travel by senior police officers, saving over £500,000 and reducing the Met's use of consultants by a third, saving a huge £3.7 million.

ON TRANSPORT

To a place as thriving and bustling as London, a state-of-the-art, fully integrated transport system is vital to the day to day lives of the seven million Londoners who choose to make this city their home and the millions of others who visit us daily.

Travel must be fair and affordable for all, yet Transport for London have again announced plans to raise fares on public transport in January 2011, with some of the lower cost tickets, such as the Zones 2-6 One Day Travelcard being withdrawn all together! There will also be a 50% rise in the Child One Day Travel Card, going from £2 to £3 as well as an 8% increase in Pay As You Go bus fares.

I will lobby the Mayor to ensure that his fare plans fall evenly across London, rather than penalising low and middle income earners who rely on public transport.

Whilst Crossrail was given the go-ahead in the recent Comprehensive Spending Review, it is now paramount to ensure that the scheme is closely monitored. Under current plans, Londoners will pay for the majority of the funding, despite the fact that 8 out of 37 stations are outside Greater London. I will also fight to ensure that those residents and businesses whose homes and premises are compulsory purchased to make way for construction work are handled sympathetically.

On buses, despite being the most popular mode of public transport in London, the Mayor has reduced the bus subsidy by some £250 million. Whilst it is important that the bus service is efficient and delivers value for money, the Mayor's decision to cut the subsidy so substantially could have a detrimental effect on the quality of the network. I will fight for a high quality bus service that is accessible for all. And let's not even get started on Boris's Routemaster: costing £7.8m for 5 buses in Jan 2012!

ON ECONOMIC GROWTH

Londoners are proud of their city, and rightly so. London is recognised as the world capital of business, the world's top international visitor destination and the world's leading international centre of learning and creativity. To retain its position, London needs a robust economic development strategy for both the short and long term future.

The Mayor published his revision of the Economic Development Strategy in May 2010, which set out his ambitions for the future of London. Whilst I mostly welcome the report, I have serious concerns for the lack of planning for London's small businesses, which provide nearly half of London's employment.

The Liberal Democrats want to make it easier to start up a new business, by ensuring that regulations are reviewed, by simplifying corporate tax reliefs and allowances and by ensuring the flow of credit to small and medium enterprises.

I also believe that City Hall can give a stronger steer on inward investment and needs to continue funding of Think London, the organisation set up to encourage foreign direct investment into UK via London. The last thing we need is a weak sterling attracting foreign funds into fueling another property boom. We must have the right strategies and incentives to ensure new investments will be directed into regeneration projects, investment in our infrastructure and into new industries such as creative, IT and green investements.

ON THE ENVIRONMENT

I want London to become a truly sustainable city. London's ecological footprint is too high and it must be reduced if we are to minimise our consumption and produce less waste.

Air pollution in London is the worst in the UK for dangerous airborne particles and has the highest annual nitrogen dioxide levels of any city in Europe, yet the Mayor's draft Air Quality Strategy does not propose sufficient actions to bring nitrogen dioxide within legal limits.

I will lobby the Mayor to tighten up the existing Low Emission Zones so that private vehicles, alongside lorries and buses, are subject to Euro III standards and will also call for a ban on the oldest diesel vehicles from Central London. Furthermore, if London still does not meet limits for air pollution by 1st January 2015, I will propose the extension of the clean air zone out to the North and South Circular roads.

Whilst the Mayor's commitment to the target of reducing London's carbon emissions by 60% of 1990 levels by 2025 is commendable, the Mayor's goal should be for London to be zero-carbon by 2050. This should also match the targets set of zero waste going to landfill.

The Mayor must now set annual carbon reduction targets for the period up to 2025 and monitor them publicly, as well as make the retrofitting of 2.4 million London homes a reality with a detailed action plan. I will also pressure the Mayor to be more ambitious about the carbon reductions expected from transport, by setting out improvements to walking signage and map provision and introducing a faster roll-out of hybrid buses.

Turning to water, whilst I welcome the Mayor's proposals to introduce water metering throughout the capital to help reduce demand, the measures contained in the Draft Water Strategy must be further reaching in tackling London's water infrastructure. London's water and sewage infrastructure is Victorian and can no long cope, often releasing untreated sewage to the equivalent of 4000 Olympic swimming pools into the Thames.

The priority must be on reducing demand and cutting leakage before the construction of new water supplies can begin. The Mayor has agreed to set up a new sewage discharge warning system for river users but I will also be advocating the need for new sewer infrastructure.