Latest figures from the Borough Commander show that Southwark has 60 fewer police officers this year compared to last, meaning that Southwark loses a police officer every week. Over the same period of time, knife crime and moped-enabled crime in Southwark have increased by half and muggings have increased by a quarter. All of these increases are double the London average.

Sadiq Khan accepted that mistakes had been made by Transport for London, when it decided to halve the RV1 bus route service. Cuts to the route, which connects Covent Garden to Tower Hill via the Southbank and Bankside, were announced suddenly last month, without any consultation with residents or passengers.

Southwark Liberal Democrats have surveyed locals about crime, following the surge across the borough and the capital in the last few years. Robberies in Southwark were up a quarter last year, while knife crime, gun crime and violent crime went up by almost half – roughly double the rise across London as a whole. The capital is now more dangerous than New York for rape, robbery and violent crime.

Introduction

Jamaica Road is one of the most gridlocked roads anywhere in Britain. The overriding priority for residents, local businesses and road users – pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and bus users – is to cut congestion.

Responses to Transport for London’s plans for the CS4 route between Tower Bridge and Greenwich have been published. The most difficult aspect of the plans remains Jamaica Road, which lies in the middle of the proposed cycle superhighway route. The road is frequently gridlocked, is difficult to cross and has some of the worst air pollution in the capital. Congestion rose by 19% last year alone.

The leader of Labour-led Southwark council has conceded his administration’s record on empty homes was ‘unsatisfactory’, admitting that they ‘haven’t managed it properly’. At the previous Council Assembly, the Liberal Democrat councillor Ben Johnson asked the leader about newly released figures. They show that six thousand homes in Southwark are currently empty – much more than any other borough in London and more than neighbouring Lewisham, Lambeth and Tower Hamlets put together.

The Liberal Democrat opposition on Southwark Council have produced an alternative budget which enables the a 3% increase in spending, but delivered through efficiency savings rather than the council tax increase.

Transport for London have announced they will now consider building a station at Bricklayers’ Arms, as part of the project to extend the Bakerloo Line. While other stations, such as between New Cross Gate and Lewisham, were definitely ruled out, Bricklayers’ Arms was explicitly highlighted as a seriously considered option.

A group of local activists are campaigning for a youth club to be created in south Bermondsey. The Blue Youth Club was closed a few years ago, with many residents saying it left young people in the area with little to do.

Gareth Bell, Kirsty Grove and Andrew Tipler met with the leaders of youth services in neighbouring areas, such as the Salmon Youth Centre and the BEDE Centre, who offered help, advice and volunteers. Their ambition is to get a new youth centre built in the Blue, ideally in a larger space and better facilities than the Blue Youth Club had when it was closed.

Southwark Liberal Democrats are calling on the Mayor of London to take urgent action to stop the RV1 bus service being cut in half.