For generations, London has been a place where people came to build a better life.

But today, many families feel they have little choice but to leave.

Rising housing costs, higher rents and the increasing cost of everyday life are making it harder than ever to put down roots in the capital. For many, the dream of owning a home has slipped further out of reach, while renting has become increasingly expensive.

Across London, we're hearing from people who love this city but no longer believe they can afford to stay.

Some are moving far beyond the capital in search of more affordable housing. Others are leaving friends, family and the communities they've spent years building because they simply can't make the numbers add up.

When families are priced out of London, the city loses more than residents. It loses neighbours, volunteers, workers, customers and the diversity that has always been one of London's greatest strengths.

No one should be forced to leave the city they call home simply because it has become too expensive to live here.

Lift London is listening to families, sharing their stories and making sure these challenges aren't ignored.

But to reach more people and make a bigger impact, we need your help.

Lift London is listening to families, sharing their stories and making sure these challenges aren't ignored. 

But to reach more people and make a bigger impact, we need your help.

Whether you can share your own story, volunteer your time, become a supporter, make a donation or simply help spread the word, you'll be helping us shine a light on the issues affecting Londoners every day.

Join us today: https://help.liftlondon.org.uk

 

 

Presented by Sonay Ozkitayli and produced by Henry Weston, Lift London is an initiative run by the London Liberal Democrats to raise awareness of issues faced by Londoners and find solutions improve their lives.

 

Streatham's Lib Dem councillors have written to the Mayor of London demanding urgent action over Transport for London's management of the £25 million Streatham Hill improvement scheme.

The councillors say TfL has "treated bus passengers as an afterthought", closing four bus stops on Streatham Hill with little or no warning, leaving elderly residents, disabled people, parents with buggies and others facing long walks on one of London's busiest bus corridors.

Their letter, co-signed by Lib Dem London Assembly Leader Hina Bokhari, calls on TfL urgently to improve management of the scheme, reopen bus stops, provide clear information to passengers and accelerate construction by making greater use of weekend working.

The Lib Dem group argues that the current disruption continues an unhappy history for the project. The original plans were consulted on in 2020 before the Streatham Hill Low Traffic Neighbourhood had been introduced. 

In 2025, the scheme was revived and construction began without any fresh public consultation, despite significant changes in local circumstances.

Councillor Kita Ogden, Liberal Democrat councillor for Streatham Hill West and Thornton, said:

"Nobody expects major roadworks to be painless, but residents do expect them to be competently managed. Instead, bus passengers have been treated as an afterthought.  People are left to discover closed stops without warning and to walk long distances, all while communication from TfL has been wholly inadequate.

"These works have been controversial and poorly managed from the start.  The least TfL can do is make sure the works are properly planned, that passengers are properly informed and that construction is progressing as quickly as possible."

Liberal Democrat councillors have asked the Mayor and TfL to:

·       review the phasing of the works to avoid simultaneous bus stop closures;

·       reopen closed bus stops as soon as possible;

·       publish a clear timetable for future closures;

·       improve information for passengers;

·       explain the accessibility assessments undertaken during construction;

·       increase weekend, daytime working where appropriate to minimise disruption; 

·       provide a dedicated telephone line for residents to report problems during the period of the works; and

·       brief all Streatham ward councillors regularly

The letter also asks the Mayor to provide an update on the longer-term strategy for cycling on the A23, warning that the current scheme creates only around a mile of cycle lanes with no published plan for how cyclists will continue safely towards Brixton and central London.

Deputy Leader of Southwark Council and Leader of the Southwark Liberal Democrats, Cllr Victor Chamberlain, has written to newly appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging him to reverse the funding settlement and deliver a fair deal for Southwark residents.

In his letter, Cllr Chamberlain warns that the scale of the funding loss will have a devastating impact on local services and residents, particularly in a borough where 30% of people live in areas among the 20% most deprived nationally. He argues that Southwark should not be penalised simply because it is part of London.

The Liberal Democrats say that Southwark residents voted for change at the local elections in May, but are instead being faced with the prospect of Labour imposing "crushing austerity" on local government. The party argues that efforts to support growth in the North of England must not come at the expense of communities in London and has reiterated its position that "where London succeeds, the UK succeeds".

As part of his letter to the Prime Minister, Cllr Chamberlain also called on the Government to back the long-awaited Bakerloo Line Extension, arguing that the project would unlock economic growth, support the delivery of new homes, and benefit both Southwark and the wider UK economy. 

Alongside his letter to the Prime Minister, Cllr Chamberlain has written to Southwark's Labour MPs to congratulate them on their new ministerial appointments and offer to work with them to defend Southwark's interests within Government.

Commenting, Cllr Victor Chamberlain, Deputy Leader of Southwark Council said: 

"Southwark is staring down the barrel of a £102 million funding black hole because of Labour's so-called Fair Funding settlement.

"Residents were promised change, yet our borough now faces the prospect of cuts to local services and increasing pressure on hardworking families.

"Southwark is home to significant deprivation, and it is simply wrong that communities like ours should lose out under Labour's plans.

"Andy Burnham has an opportunity to show that his Government will govern for the whole country. Levelling up the North must not mean levelling down Southwark.

"The Liberal Democrats will continue to stand up for our residents and fight for a genuinely fair deal for Southwark."

Reform UK failed to back electoral reform at City Hall today, as the London Assembly voted in favour of a Liberal Democrat motion calling for more proportional representation in London local elections.

Introducing the motion, Gareth Roberts joked that he now stood as the “supreme, unopposed leader of the London Republic of Richmond upon Thames”, but said the result showed the absurdity of a system where “51.5 percent of the vote” can deliver “100 percent of the power”.

He told the Assembly: “That is not democracy. It is what happens when an election was designed by Putin and executed by Kim Jong-un.”

The motion, proposed by Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Gareth Roberts and seconded by Hina Bokhari OBE AM, passed with 11 votes in favour, 5 against and 5 abstentions.

The vote exposed divisions across City Hall, with every party except the Liberal Democrats and Greens split on whether to support fair votes.

Reform’s position came under particular scrutiny after Keith Prince voted against the motion and Alex Wilson abstained, despite Reform UK’s 2024 manifesto backing a referendum on proportional representation.

Labour Assembly Members were also divided, with Marina Ahmad, Leonie Cooper, Bassam Mahfouz and Joanne McCartney voting in favour, while Elly Baker, Anne Clarke and James Small-Edwards abstained.

Liberal Democrats said the Labour split came despite growing support for electoral reform across Parliament, pointing to Andy Burnham’s support for proportional representation, after he said: “I am committed to proportional representation. I think it would change the political culture. I don’t see how First Past the Post and the point-scoring inherent within it lifts Britain out of the doom loop it is in.”

The Conservatives split three ways: Emma Best and Andrew Boff voted for the motion, Shaun Bailey abstained, and Neil Garratt, Alessandro Georgiou, Susan Hall and Thomas Turrell voted against.

Gareth Roberts AM said:

“Reform had a chance to back reform today. They refused – despite the fact that proportional representation was a central promise in their own manifesto, but as soon as it starts to look like First Past the Post may suit them, they change their tune.

“The Liberal Democrats by contrast are willing to say the system is broken even when it benefits us.

“Richmond voters gave the Liberal Democrats an extraordinary mandate, and we are proud of it. But no party should win every seat on just over half the vote — not us, not Labour, not the Conservatives, not Reform.

“A landslide for one party should not mean a wipeout for local democracy.”

Hina Bokhari OBE AM said:

“Londoners deserve a democracy where votes count equally and communities are fairly represented.

“People are fed up with politics because they can see the system is broken. If we want better public services, more accountability and a politics that works for the long term, we have to fix the way politics works first.”

The Liberal Democrats said the campaign for electoral reform would continue, and urged the public to visit www.lder.org/fix-politics.

The full text of the motion passed can be found here: Assembly wants reform of electoral systems | London City Hall

At the recent local elections Ealing Lib Dems more than doubled their councillors, representing Walpole, Ealing Broadway, Hanger Hill, Ealing Common and Southfield.  They led all opposition parties in voting against the new annual plan presented at the Full Council meeting on Tue 30 June 2026.

The Leader of the Opposition Cllr Gary Malcolm spoke to welcome the new councillors across a range of parties and the much-strengthened opposition to Ealing Labour which exposed resident unhappiness with the incumbents.  In terms of votes cast across the borough, seven of the top nine winning candidates were Lib Dem Councillors.

Cllr Gary Malcolm expressed a concern regarding how children would get the best start in life when ten children centres1 were closed and replaced with a single Family hub.  Also, a shortage of social care places across the borough, reduced leisure services (including swimming pools and libraries) and an increasingly dirty, unkempt streets where weeds, crime and anti-social behaviour thrive.

He observed many omissions in the Annual Plan including

another ombudsman review on housing which showed that this area remained a critical issue alongside the lack of delivery on housebuilding, failure to address a broken repairs approach and – the failure of Broadway Living with a loss to council tax-payers, information released post-election. 

Plus, the high number of maladministration concerns which led to the Housing Ombudsman2 opening a Tier 1 investigation following complaints from residents living in council homes, with leaks, damp and mould among the key concerns.

Cllr Matt Mellor (Walpole ward), making his maiden speech, raised the priorities of residents in Walpole ward who want to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour, improve street cleanliness, turnaround the fortunes of West Ealing and address issues with Walpole Park, Lammas Park and Deans Gardens.

He pushed the council to do more on street cleanliness highlighting a lack of proposals to improve services in the council plan, giving the example of community skips to help reduce fly-tipping.

He also urged the council to go beyond what was published in the plan and commit officer time and more money for West Ealing for the full four year council term given the scale of the improvement which is needed.

Newly elected Councillor Adam Keenan, one of the youngest councillors across all parties, was elected in Ealing Broadway.  He hailed the importance of diversity as a key Ealing strength.  He has engaged extensively with local people who have called for more affordable housing, an improved street environment and a re-opening of a twenty-four hour police station in Acton.  These are essential foundation stones to the building of a thriving diverse community across the borough.  The residents key message was for a cleaner, safer, and fairer Ealing.

Councillor Gary Malcolm - Leader of the Opposition said: “The Liberal Democrats are disappointed at this lost opportunity to go further with service delivery across the borough with a focus on issues which matter to residents. They have hidden the collapse of Broadway Living (a key mechanism for house building) until after the election. They missed out on £100m from developers which could have been used for community facilities.  Ealing Labour has done nothing to address the recent collapse of Dementia Concern, further reducing available services to residents.

Ealing Labour lack of leadership and decision-making ability in running effective and efficient services for residents. It is disappointing to see that Ealing Labour are unwilling to invest to create a step change despite a £131.8m cash injection5 which the Council has received from central government. Ealing Labour have run out of ideas and are complacent.”