Caroline Pidgeon


Caroline Valerie Pidgeon MBE 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. She was the first member of her family to go to university, graduating from Aberystwyth University in 1994.
After university, Pidgeon moved to London, where she now lives with her husband Paul and their son.

Political career

Between 2002 and 2010, Pidgeon was a Board Member of Lambeth and Southwark Housing Association. Pidgeon has also been a Trustee of the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education since 2005.
At the 1998 local election, Pidgeon was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor for Southwark London Borough Council, representing the ward of Newington. During her time on the Council, she served as Deputy Leader of Southwark Council and a cabinet member for Children's Services and Education.
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. 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. 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. At the 2010 general election on the same day, Pidgeon unsuccessfully stood in the Vauxhall constituency.
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. Pidgeon currently serves as Chair of the London Assembly's Transport Committee.
In the 2013 New Year Honours, Pidgeon was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for public and political service.
In September 2015, Pidgeon secured the Liberal Democrats' candacy for the 2016 London mayoral election. Pidgeon promised to focus on housing, affordable childcare, air pollution and public transport. She emphasised the need to ensure that workers can live in the city by using rent control and reducing public transport costs. 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.

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