Liberal Democrat MPs and campaigners from across London have today (25 March) hit out at major bus service reductions across the capital as some routes prepare to move to a less frequent timetable as early as this Saturday- with the party’s London spokesperson Luke Taylor describing it as “managed decline” and the “reality of Labour in London”.

It follows weeks of speculation about the potential reduction in service, with some operators such as Go-Ahead signalling their intention to retender their routes to account for the increased costs they are facing, including the higher financial burden placed on them following the Government’s NICs tax hike. In January, TfL confirmed a reduction in service would soon come into effect on several routes.

Luke Taylor MP said: "Labour messed up their times tables and now we’re seeing it hit our timetables.

“It was plain for anyone to see that their foolish decision to hike NICs would force bus operators to slash costs and, as a result, force TfL to downgrade service.

“People across the capital who rely on bus routes that have been put in similar jeopardy by Labour’s actions will now be worried about the rot spreading further. “When services are reduced, even where TfL claims that demand is low, we see huge problems with overcrowding and unreliability.

“In effect, TfL is claiming that demand is lower but refusing to admit that it is because, in so many parts of London, they have made the experience of getting a bus so difficult and painful that commuters have simply given up altogether.

“Londoners can see it for what it is - managed decline.

“That is the reality of London under Labour - a consistent record of making things worse, not better. On May 7th, Londoners will remember that when they go the polls”

Hina Bokhari, leader of the Lib Dem group on the London Assembly, highlighted the impact this will have on disabled and older Londoners:

“Once again, Sadiq Khan has broken his promise that a Labour government would be good for London. It isn’t. 

“So many people rely on these buses, particularly disabled and older Londoners.

“These cuts will impact our most vulnerable who need an affordable and accessible transport system, and this is simply unacceptable.”

Sarah Olney, MP for Richmond Park, echoed the sentiment and highlights that one local bus in her constituency facing cuts is the only direct route to a local hospital:

“TfL are reducing the service of the 493 and 371 bus, while completely slashing the 533.

“Cutting the 371 will leave Ham without a reliable service, while the 493 provides the only direct route from Richmond to St George’s Hospital.

“What is the Mayor doing to support London? Our buses are being slashed, our police front counters are being closed, while potholes riddle TfL owned roads. Enough is enough.”

One of the routes most dramatically impacted will be the 484 - which runs from Lewisham Station to Denmark Hill. Luke McSorley, local Lib Dem campaigner in Goose Green, Southwark, said:

"Local people in East Dulwich rely on the 484 bus to get to work, do their shopping, or just stay in touch with their friends and family. I know I do!

"It beggars belief that Labour have allowed routes like this to come under threat and face cuts, and are now pretending they couldn't see it coming. 

“It's a slap in the face and just goes to show that Labour in Southwark aren't willing to admit that they're throwing local people under the bus"

In East London, where the D3 bus is also among those facing cuts, Lib Dem campaigners Guy Benson and Seb Villars have also expressed their anger:

"We are right to feel let down by TfL at the news of yet another cut to the frequency of the D3. 

“With neither Wapping or Shadwell overground stations providing step-free access, the D3 is the only way for local residents with mobility issues to travel between the Royal London Hospital and Wapping. 

“We have also previously raised with TfL problems associated with the regularity of service on this route. A less frequent service means that disappointingly this problem may worsen."

The problem extends to north London, where Brent Lib Dem campaigner Anton Georgiou said that local residents will feel “betrayed” by reductions to the 204 bus:

“This is totally unacceptable and a reminder that London run by Labour is going in the wrong direction.

“When I knock on doors in my area I meet so many people who rely on the 204 bus. They will feel betrayed by these cuts.”

And in Ealing, where the 207 bus runs a vital route from Hayes to White City, Liberal Democrat leader of the opposition on Ealing Council Gary Malcolm levelled the blame squarely with Sadiq Khan: 

"Commuters in West London deserve so much better than let down after let down from this Labour Mayor, and the cuts to the 207 bus just go to show that he doesn't have their best interests at heart. 

“These cuts will just mean more Ealing residents will struggle to get to work or get to the shops, and considering how tough the times we're living through are, that just isn't acceptable"

Responding to the news that an ambulance station belonging to a Jewish community group in Golders Green was set alight overnight, Lib Dem MP and Spokesperson for London Luke Taylor said:

“Vile, antisemitic hate has no place in our city and those responsible for this must be found and held accountable.

“Communities across London will always be stronger than those small-minded people who can’t stand the fact that in our great city, people of all faiths live, work and thrive side by side."

Responding to today’s 5.8% rise in tube fares Luke Taylor, MP for Sutton, Cheam and Worcester Park and the party’s frontbench spokesperson for London, said:

“Londoners today have woken up once again to a city that is just that little bit more expensive to live in, work in and enjoy.

“This rise in tube fares wasn’t inevitable. If the Mayor had the ear of this Labour government as he promised he would, we’d be having conversations about putting TfL’s finances on a more stable footing to help insulate working people across the city from rises like this.

“On this issue, as with so many others, Londoners deserve better than lacklustre Labour leadership. In May, that’s exactly what the Liberal Democrats are offering in councils across the capital”.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Jon Ball comments on news that the John Lewis Partnership has dropped plans to build 428 tall towers which were seen as being very controversial.

It's not clear yet whether they'll just revert to operating the current supermarket or try to sell the site.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Jon Ball, Spokesperson for Planning and Regeneration, said: "I welcome the news that John Lewis Partnership have abandoned their 20-storey tower proposal for West Ealing Waitrose, which was inappropriately high for the area and massively exceeded the local plan maximum. Ealing's Labour-controlled council failed to determine this application and then failed to oppose it at the planning appeal.

"As the Liberal Democrat opposition, we demand that Ealing Council deal with any future application for this site properly, and in accordance with the local plan."

Southwark Labour last night voted down the Liberal Democrats’ alternative budget, which contained – amongst other measures – a package which would have: 

• Frozen council tax for those most struggling, abolished council tax for those with terminal illnesses, and added £1 million to the cost-of-living fund. 
• Doubled community safety wardens 
• Rolled out one stop shops for council services 

In addition to blocking the amendment, the Labour party also engaged in a shocking display of political sabotage. The Cabinet Member for Finance purposefully ran down the clock on councillor’s questions, meaning that only one Liberal Democrat question out of eleven submitted were heard.

In a more serious breach of the standards expected of those elected to public office, the 45-strong Labour group repeatedly shouted down opposition members, resulting in one Liberal Democrat councillor being unable to deliver the speech she intended to give on community safety.

The Liberal Democrats have been pushing many of these policies for years – with one stop shops featuring in the previous three years’ alternative budgets, community wardens the previous two, and have consistently put forward cost of living support every year in their proposals. 

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Victor Chamberlain said:

“Labour’s actions last night were those of a desperate political party who know the writing is on the wall for them in May. They’re more interested in playing political games than delivering on residents’ priorities. Our alternative budget – which they slapped down as they do every year – would have delivered on those priorities of crime, the cost of living, and improving council services.

Residents have lost all faith in this Labour administration to deliver change – they know that Liberal Democrats are the only ones who can fix Southwark by rolling out fully resourced one stop shops, doubling community safety wardens, and freezing council tax for those most struggling.”

Southwark Liberal Democrat Councillor Irina Von Wiese has shared her experience of having her phone snatched outside the Labour-run council’s own headquarters on Tooley St.

Cllr Von Wiese, who lives in the local area, has explained how earlier in February she was waiting to catch the bus, and used her phone to check bus times. A young man wearing a balaclava on an electric bike then grabbed her phone and sped off. By the time she got home mere minutes later, tracking software showed the phone was already deep in south London.  

Recounting the event, Irina explained that her immediate concern was for her own safety - “standing so close to the pavement on a main road, I easily could have been knocked into the path of a moving car or bus”.

The incident took place in the ward of London Bridge and West Bermondsey, which recorded 713 phone thefts in the last year – the second highest number in Southwark and one of the highest in London.

Both the Labour council and Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan have come under increasing fire for their failure to tackle crime in Southwark – with the Mayor responsible for closing multiple police front counters, and the council responsible for failing to secure a new base for the police in Rotherhithe, despite residents being promised they would have one as part of the Canada Water Masterplan.

The Mayor has also pursued cuts to the police across the council, with around 1,700 jobs axed as part of his programme.

The Liberal Democrats say they would double the number of council-employed community safety wardens, and are working with their Liberal Democrat colleagues in the Greater London Assembly and Parliament to fight for more resources for the police. 

Commenting, Cllr Irina Von Wiese said:

“Phone snatching is endemic across London, but I know as a local councillor and now a victim myself how worried residents are about this. People have their whole lives on their phones – and even setting aside the cost of getting a new phone, the ordeal of losing such a vital device is genuinely distressing”.  

Southwark Liberal Democrat Leader of the Opposition Cllr Victor Chamberlain said: 

“Liberal Democrats have been calling out Labour for their failure to tackle crime in Southwark and across London for years – for a local councillor to have their phone stolen outside the headquarters of a Labour council just underlines how far they have failed.  

The fact is that people have lost all faith in the ability of the authorities to solve these crimes – so the already too-high statistics are probably hiding an even wider problem.  

Liberal Democrats want to see more bobbies on the beat and a return to real community policing, and for this Labour government and Mayor to give the police the resources they need to investigate these crimes and catch criminals.  

Locally, we want to double our council-employed community safety wardens to provide that extra layer of safety and assurance that residents are desperate to see”.