Caroline Pidgeon
Caroline Valerie Pidgeon MBE | |
---|---|
| |
Leader of the London Liberal Democrats | |
Assumed office 1 May 2008 | |
Preceded by | Mike Tuffrey |
Member of the London Assembly as the 3rd Additional Member | |
Assumed office 1 May 2008 | |
Preceded by | Geoff Pope |
Councillor for Southwark London Borough Council | |
In office 7 May 1998 – 6 May 2010 | |
Ward | Newington |
Succeeded by | Catherine Bowman |
Personal details | |
Born |
Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom | 29 September 1972
Nationality | British |
Political party | Liberal Democrats |
Spouse(s) | Paul |
Children | 1 |
Alma mater | Aberystwyth University[1] |
Occupation | Politician |
Website | Caroline Pidgeon |
Caroline Valerie Pidgeon MBE (born 29 September 1972) is a Liberal Democrat politician in the United Kingdom and the only member of the Liberal Democrats in the London Assembly.
Personal life
Pidgeon grew up in Hampshire.[2] She was the first member of her family to go to university, graduating from Aberystwyth University in 1994.[3]
After university, Pidgeon moved to London, where she now lives with her husband Paul and their son.[4]
Political career
Between 2002 and 2010, Pidgeon was a Board Member of Lambeth and Southwark Housing Association.[3] Pidgeon has also been a Trustee of the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education since 2005.[4]
At the 1998 local election, Pidgeon was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor for Southwark London Borough Council, representing the ward of Newington.[5] During her time on the Council, she served as Deputy Leader of Southwark Council and a cabinet member for Children's Services and Education.[3]
In the 2008 London Assembly election, Pidgeon was selected as the Liberal Democrats' candidate for the Lambeth and Southwark constituency; she came second to Labour's Valerie Shawcross.[6] In the same election, she was the third candidate on the party's London-wide party list and was thereby elected onto the London Assembly.[7] Pidgeon has since been reelected in 2012 and 2016.
Following her election to the London Assembly, Pidgeon retired from Southwark Council at the 2010 local election.[8] At the 2010 general election on the same day, Pidgeon unsuccessfully stood in the Vauxhall constituency.[9]
On the London Assembly, Pidgeon served as a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority between 2008 and 2012 and the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority between 2008 and 2010.[4] Pidgeon served as Chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee in 2009–10 and every other year since then, having previously served as vice-chair during 2008–09.[10]
In the 2013 New Year Honours, Pidgeon was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for public and political service.[11]
In September 2015, Pidgeon secured the Liberal Democrats' candacy for the 2016 London mayoral election.[12] Pidgeon promised to focus on housing, affordable childcare, air pollution and public transport.[13] She emphasised the need to ensure that workers can live in the city by using rent control and reducing public transport costs.[13] She increased the Lib Dem vote from 4.2% to 4.6% but the party remained in fourth place. She held her seat on the London Assembly as the only Liberal Democrat.[14]
Footnotes
- ↑ http://www.carolinepidgeon.org/about
- ↑ "Caroline Pidgeon". Age UK London Blog. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- 1 2 3 "Caroline Pidgeon". London City Hall. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- 1 2 3 http://www.libdems.org.uk/ (12 October 2017). "Caroline Pidgeon". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- ↑ Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael (1998). "Local Elections Handbook 1998" (PDF). Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- ↑ "BBC NEWS | Election 2008 | London Elections: Lambeth & Southwark". BBC News. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- ↑ "BBC NEWS | Election 2008 | London Assembly Election 2008". BBC News. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- ↑ "Previous elections results: 2010 local council elections". Southwark Council. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- ↑ "BBC News | Election 2010 | Constituency | Vauxhall". BBC News. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- ↑ "Committee details - Transport Committee". London City Hall. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- ↑ "No. 60367". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 2012. p. 21.
- ↑ "Lib Dems name mayoral candidate". BBC News. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
- 1 2 Perraudin, Frances (17 September 2015). "Lib Dems select Caroline Pidgeon to fight London mayor election". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
- ↑ "Election Results". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
External links
- Caroline Pidgeon Official site
- Caroline Pidgeon profile Liberal Democrats