Jennifer Helen Jones, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, (born 23 December 1949) is a British politician who served as
Deputy Mayor of London from 2003 to 2004. A member of the
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
, she was until September 2019 the sole Green Party member in the House of Lords.
Jones represented the Green Party in the
London Assembly
The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...
from its creation in 2000 until standing down in 2016. She was the Green candidate for
Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The current ...
in the
2012 election, coming third with 4.48% of first preferences. She served as
Deputy Mayor of London from May 2003 to June 2004. She was also the sole Green councillor on
Southwark Council from 2006 to 2010.
''Southwark Greens'' Stop paying council cleaners poverty wages.
On the London Assembly, Jones's prime areas of interest were transport, housing and planning, and policing, "with a strong emphasis on sustainability and localism".
[ In addition to her period as deputy mayor, Jones served as Chair of London Food, Green Transport Advisor, and Road Safety Ambassador.] It was announced at the beginning of August 2013 that she was to become the first Green life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
in the House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
since Tim Beaumont. She was introduced to the House of Lords on 5 November 2013.["Introductions"](_blank)
''Democracy Live'' (House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
; published by the BBC), 5 November 2013
"Introduction: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – in the House of Lords at 2:38 pm on 5th November 2013."
''They Work For You''. 5 November 2013.
Early life and career
Jones grew up on the Moulsecoomb estate in Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
, She attended the co-educational Westlain Grammar School (was Falmer High School now BACA). Before entering politics, Jones worked as a financial controller in London. She studied environmental archaeology at the UCL Institute of Archaeology as a mature student, graduating with a Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
(BSc) degree in 1991. She spent about 10 years in the Middle East, working on paleobotany
Paleobotany or palaeobotany, also known as paleophytology, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant fossils from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments ( pal ...
, before embarking on a career in politics.[
]
Political career
Jones joined the Green Party (UK) in 1988, which splintered two years later into three parties, one of which is the Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
. She has held several posts within the party, including the position of chair on the executive from 1995 to 1997.[
]
London Assembly member
In the 2000 election, Jones won a place in the inaugural London Assembly
The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...
as part of a three-strong Green Group, including Councillor Darren Johnson AM and Victor Anderson, who resigned in March 2003 and was replaced by Noel Lynch for the remainder of the term. The 2004 GLA elections saw the Greens lose the seat held by Lynch, leaving Jones and Johnson as the two remaining members of the Green Group.
In May 2003, the Green Party, after some internal dissent, accepted an offer from the Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The current ...
, Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...
, to nominate a deputy mayor
The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments.
Duties and functions
Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...
; they chose Jones, who held the post until June 2004. The offer was part of Livingstone's pledge to rotate the position of deputy mayor, although he later declined to offer the post to the Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
and had an offer to the Liberal Democrats turned down.
As a London Assembly Member, Jenny Jones promoted the issues of road safety
Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures, such as traffic calming, to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, Driving, motorists, passengers of vehicles, and p ...
, food, sustainable transport
Sustainable transport is transportation sustainability, sustainable in terms of their social and Environmental issue, environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used; the source of energy; and ...
, social justice and the police and civil liberties.
She was a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority
The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) (2000–2012) was the local police authority responsible for scrutinising and supporting the work of the Metropolitan Police Service, the police force for Greater London (excluding the City of London Police ...
,[ and has issued a report on traffic policing.] She sat on both the MPA's Strategic and Operational Policing Committee and Civil Liberties Panel.[Strategic Operational Policing Committee](_blank)
, part of the Metropolitan Police Authority Elsewhere she put forward a motion and has put questions to the Mayor calling for progress on women's issues, specifically in relation to violence against women
Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...
and support provision.
Jones chaired the Planning and Housing Committee, which issued a report on food growing and planning in London, Cultivating the Capital.[ It concluded that "London has only three or four days stocks of food should there be any disruption to supply".] Jones issued an individual report in January 2010 on affordable housing
Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on ...
in London, which determined that "the cost of buying a home n Londonhas risen twice as fast as incomes".
She was also a member of the Confirmation Hearings and Transport Committees.[
She previously held roles as the Mayor's Road Safety Ambassador and Green Transport advisor,][ focusing on road safety and cycling in London][''The Independent'', 4 September 2007 ''Stop Your Engines With the Bike Rental Scheme''](_blank)
/ref> respectively, as well as being the former Chair of London Food, a mayoral commission which "aims to give Londoners fresher, healthier and more affordable food while reducing the environmental impact of our current food supply". As Chair, Jones was responsible for drawing up the Sustainable Food Strategy for London and chaired the Food Implementation Group overseeing the strategy[ More recently, she also issued a report on the subject of food security in the capital.]
Southwark Councillor
In the 2006 local elections, Jones was elected as a councillor for the South Camberwell
Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross.
Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...
ward in the London Borough of Southwark
The London Borough of Southwark ( ) in South London forms part of Inner London and is connected by bridges across the River Thames to the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council ...
, the Greens' first councillor in Southwark.[ She came third in the ward, polling 1014 votes.][Southwark Council , Your Council , Your Vote , Results of Borough Council Elections 4 May 2006 , Local Election Results 2006]
In the 2010 elections she lost her seat, coming fifth with 1282 votes.
Parliamentary candidate
In the 2005 general election, Jones stood in the Dulwich and West Norwood parliamentary constituency, coming fourth with 2,741 votes (6.5%).
In the 2010 general election, she stood in the Camberwell and Peckham parliamentary constituency, coming fourth with 1,361 votes (2.9%).
Mayoral candidate
In March 2011, Jones was selected as the Green Party's candidate for the 2012 London Mayoral election winning 67% of the votes against prominent Green Party members Dr Shahrar Ali and Farid Bakht, stating "At this time of savage cuts to essential services, London needs a Mayor who will create a fairer city and reduce the gap between rich and poor. These are hard times for people who care about quality services, local businesses, and protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities. I promise to make fighting cuts to housing benefit, the NHS and youth services a key part of my campaign to be Mayor."
At the election, she came third with 98,913 first preference votes (4.5%), but lost her deposit due to scoring less than 5% of the vote.
House of Lords
On 20 September 2013, Jones was created a Life Peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
taking the title Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, of Moulsecoomb in the County of East Sussex
East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...
. She was nominated for this appointment by her party after a ballot of members. She was introduced to the House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
on 5 November 2013. She became the first Green Party peer since the death of Tim Beaumont, in 2008. Jones was joined in the House of Lords by Natalie Bennett, Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, in October 2019.
Political views
Climate and ecological crisis
On 17 November 2018, Jones joined the demonstration organised in London by Extinction Rebellion
Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a UK-founded global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and ...
. She told ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' that "We are at the point where if we don’t start acting and acting fast we are just going to wipe out our life support system" and that "Basically, conventional politics has failed us – it’s even failed me and I’m part of the system – so people have no other choice".[
]
The City
In her statement of policy for the 2012 election, Jones proposes several ideas to bring "a renaissance of micro, small and medium businesses" in order to spread "wealth to all Londoners", seeking "a financial services sector that works for them". She argues for a system that rewards good long-term investment "instead of trying to make a fast buck" and proposes a good financial example to be Sweden's Handelsbanken
Svenska Handelsbanken AB is a leading Nordic countries, Nordic bank with international operations, providing a comprehensive range of financial services including corporate banking, investment banking, trading, and consumer banking such as loans, ...
which gives "good basic pay and no bonuses."[ One of her candidacy's most distinct positions is with respect to The City with ambitions to "Abolish the City of London Corporation and replace it with a democratic London borough", "support new institutions like local community banks focused on lending to small businesses and social enterprises" and "Promote building societies and credit unions and lobby the Government to put its remaining nationalised banking assets into one of these models rather than a bank".][ Elsewhere, Jones has been critical of excessive top-level remuneration, stating, "It's difficult not to feel enraged" by statistics showing the average FTSE CEO earns 565 times the national average.]
The European Union and Brexit
Jones is a Eurosceptic
Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...
and advocated the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. Jones cited lack of democracy, waste and cost as her reasons for supporting Brexit
Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU).
Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
. In October 2015, Jones gave her support to Vote Leave, an organisation campaigning to leave the European Union in the referendum in the UK. Jones cited the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and EU policies of austerity
In economic policy, austerity is a set of Political economy, political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through Government spending, spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three prim ...
as part of a measure to deal with Greece's national debt imposed by the European troika
The Troika is a term used to refer to the single decision group created by three entities, the European Commission (EC), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It was formed due to the European debt crisis as ...
as reasons to support Brexit. She also argued that 'the EU exists on too large a scale for genuine democratic oversight and accountability. The Green party believes that small is beautiful – and the EU is gigantist in its very nature.'
However, on BBC Radio 4's '' Any Questions'' on 8 June 2022, Jones argued that Brexit
Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU).
Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
had now been seen to be causing economic and other damage, and that people should keep an open mind about the possibility of rejoining the EU in the future if it becomes clear that it would be better going forward for the people of the UK to do s
She has since stated that 'The only sensible thing now is to cut our losses and rejoin the EU'.
Fair Pay ratio
Jones and the Green Party, alongside others, are deeply critical of the inequalities in the pay between the rich people and poor people.[ Jones supports calls by the ]New Economics Foundation
The New Economics Foundation (NEF) is a Great Britain, British think-tank that promotes "social, economic and environmental justice".
NEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES) with the aim of working for a "new m ...
to introduce a 10:1 pay ratio, whereby the highest earner in a company or institution should earn no more than 10 times the lowest paid employee.[ Jones's policy indicates that, if elected, this would be instigated in "]City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
, Transport for London
Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.
TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
, the fire brigade
A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...
and the police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...
", and she claims "more equal societies tend to be happier and healthier as well as experiencing lower levels of violent crime."[ This is a high priority for her candidacy and she states that "this would mean that no City Hall cleaner could earn less than a tenth the Mayor’s salary, and the Commissioner of the Met Police couldn’t earn more than ten times a young recruit."]
Transgender issues
Jones's views on transgender issues have sometimes attracted media attention for differing from the Green Party's line. She claims that she supports trans rights, but does not support self-identification of gender and, in March 2018, re-tweeted a statement that linked self-identification to cases of child abuse in Telford. In the same year, Jones claims that her crowdfunder leaflets were defaced with " TERF" at the Green Party conference.
At the 2021 Conference, Jones spoke in favour of Motion E01, which argued that women were discriminated against "solely upon their biological sex". This motion was defeated, following criticism that the motion excluded trans women.
Healthy eating
Jones has argued for big changes to London's current food culture as Chair of London Food during Ken Livingstone's second Mayoral term. During her time as chair, London Food released its ‘Food Strategy’ aiming to "help improve food in London’s schools, hospitals and other public institutions" and "offer people on low income better access to healthy and affordable food".[ Some of the reports key points were:
* "Consideration will be given to the role that the public sector can play in helping to facilitate more producer collaborations and logistics and distribution partnerships, to help smaller producers to compete in the market, and to encourage new entrants."
* "Directing better the existing resources available for business support for specialist food manufacturers and processors, particularly on consumer market trends and collaborative working, and particularly for ]small and medium sized enterprises
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by many national agencies and international organizat ...
(SMEs) that reflect London’s diverse communities."
* "Promote and expand opportunities for small-scale food production for individuals and communities through gardens, orchards, schools, allotments and parks and open spaces"
* "Continue to increase the amount of organic and local food provided through public sector services in London in response to growing consumer demand."
* "Research and promote the positive benefits of nutritious food for children."[
In 2008, Jones released a report ‘Why London Needs to Grow More Food’ stressing "The Mayor of London has planning and development powers, which could be used to support widespread urban agriculture in London through the commercial and voluntary sectors, community-led social enterprises, and by engaging the unemployed, elderly, and lower skilled groups".][
]
Housing
Jones sees tackling homelessness as a key and achievable target and criticised Johnson's poor record: "This rise in homelessness is unsurprising and depressing, but completely avoidable. One fifth of people became homeless just because their insecure tenancy ended, another fifth because they have had to move out of their parents’ home into the incredibly expensive rental market. With housing benefit cuts now biting deep into people's incomes, this is only going to get worse." Jones proposes to "bring all grants for pan-London homelessness services into the GLA to protect frontline services, and work closely with homelessness organisations to ensure nobody needs to spend a second night out sleeping rough on the street."
In her campaign for mayor, Jones has spoken against the inflationary effects of certain businesses, stating, "we want to change the housing market from a playground for speculative investment to a source of secure, affordable homes". Jones has spoken in favour of community engagement in planning, specifically with regards to housing co-operatives.[ To help co-operatives develop, she proposes to "establish the London Mutual Housing Company to help communities set-up Community Land Trusts, which will give them control over the design, development and management of permanently affordable homes."][ In addition to this, she proposes a scheme to build affordable homes and to give communities the means to bring unused buildings back into use.][ For the Greens fuel poverty is a big issue and "Green London Assembly Members worked to secure the city's largest home insulation programme and demonstrated how it could be funded to reach over a million homes."]
Male curfew proposal
On 11 March 2021, following the disappearance of Sarah Everard, Jones proposed that a 6pm curfew
A curfew is an order that imposes certain regulations during specified hours. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to remain indoors during the evening and nighttime hours. Such an order is most often issued by public authorit ...
for men is put in place. In her opinion this will help to make women feel safer and also reduce discrimination
Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...
. Jones' proposals received criticism from the Conservative Party leader in the London Assembly
The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...
Susan Hall
Susan Mary Hall (''née'' Cole; born March 1955) is a British politician who has served as a Member of the London Assembly since 2017 and a councillor on Harrow London Borough Council since 2006. She was leader of the London Conservatives in t ...
, and former leader of Reform UK
Reform UK is a right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Nigel Farage has been Leader of Reform UK and Richard Tice deputy leader since 2024. It has five members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons and one membe ...
, Nigel Farage
Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...
. Jones later said that the comment was "not an entirely serious suggestion as I don't have the power to do that" and reiterated that a ban on men leaving their house was not Green Party policy.
Police
Jones was a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority
The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) (2000–2012) was the local police authority responsible for scrutinising and supporting the work of the Metropolitan Police Service, the police force for Greater London (excluding the City of London Police ...
from its creation in 2000 "and has worked on a wide range of policing issues, with a particular focus on road safety, violence against women, civil liberties and neighbourhood policing" until it was disbanded in 2012. She was outspoken about numerous issues including what she called mayor Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
's demonisation of youth through the use of "baseless" rhetoric on "soaring gang-membership and rising knife-crime", suggesting the mayor created an unhelpful climate of fear. Jones then served as a member of the MPA's replacement body, the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee.
In response to the riots in August 2011, Jones and Green Party leader, Caroline Lucas
Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...
MP co-authored an article in ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', arguing that all cuts to policing should be postponed until December 2012 when a sufficient review of the events has occurred and the lessons from the London Olympics are learned, "In the meantime, the police should focus on spending money wisely, and ensuring that police officers are not burdened with administrative tasks which take them away from frontline policing."
After herself being kettled at a students demonstration, Jones was vociferously critical of this police tactic, telling the BBC the police used kettling to "imprison peaceful campaigners and have shown they can't be trusted with such a powerful tactic", suggesting "The Met's reputation sinks even further every time they abuse their powers and it's time to stop this particular mistreatment".
In June 2014, Jones penned an editorial in ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' wherein she criticised the surveillance tactics of police on activists. After going through the process now available through the Data Protection Act to get the police report on herself, she found that she was labelled a potential "domestic extremist". She found that the report contained only publicly available information, such as tweets, and that nothing in it would suggest potentially dangerous activity. Jones has been under surveillance by the police's "domestic extremism" unit from 2001 until 2012, including the time during her attempt to become London's mayor. She viewed the revelation as both a violation of her privacy and a waste of police resources. She is now calling for a re-evaluation of police policies, especially in regards to political activists.
In January 2016, whistleblower
Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
Sgt David Williams claimed that the police's "domestic extremism" unit shredded records "related to" Jones in June 2014, the month Jones met with the unit pressing for answers.
Transport
Jones commissioned the initial Transport for London
Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.
TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
report into promoting cycling that paved the way for the London Cycle-hire scheme.[ Ashok Sinha, Chief executive of the London Cycling Campaign, said of Jones "In 2008 the London Cycling Campaign gave Jenny Jones a Special Award for her Lifetime Services to cycling. This was in recognition of her success in helping to push cycling into mainstream politics, her efforts to deliver many cycling projects on the ground, and her energies as cycling champion in general.".][
In a confrontation with the Mayor over cycle safety, Johnson said:]
Johnson's advisor wrote to Jones claiming there had been:
Which turned out not to be true. In a written statement Jones said, "we know that cycle safety is the big problem which puts Londoners off jumping on their bikes. There are a growing number of deaths and injuries of cyclists and trying to cover that up by issuing factually inaccurate statements won’t change the reality," continuing, "We urgently need to fix the most dangerous junctions and reverse the Mayor’s policy of giving priority to motorised traffic. The Mayor needs to stand his policy on its head and give legal priority on many local roads to pedestrians and cyclists."[ Jones has also been critical of Johnson's neglect of cycling in outer London, stating "given that 70% of the potential new cyclists identified by TfL are outside of inner and central London, it is shocking that the Transport Strategy has no clear plan for cycling in the suburbs and outer London."]
Jones has spoken against Boris Johnson's transport policy of "making motoring cheaper in London, whilst public transport fares are raised above inflation". At Mayor's question time, Jones highlighted a "promise" Johnson had made in 2008 to make all new buses hybrid by 2012 when in reality less than 10% had met this criterion. Jones wishes for a reduction in the burden for Londoners felt by Johnson's price increases and proposes a reduction in fares of about 4%. Jones supported the congestion charge as a way to lower pollution and road casualties and spoke against the mayor's cancellation of the Western extension, arguing that it made London dirtier, more crowded and less safe. Jones favours replacing the congestion charge with a "smart, pay-as-you drive scheme". Jones has also called for more people to use public transport and to reduce "non-essential" journeys, but has been criticised for frequently taking taxi journeys on expenses. Jones opposes High Speed 2
High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which has been under construction in England since 2019. The line's planned route is between Handsacre – in southern Staffordshire – and London, with a Spur line, branch to Birmingham. HS2 is to ...
and states that its budget should be spent on local transport.
References
External links
Jenny Jones' official website
"Green Party’s Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb to be introduced into Second Chamber"
5 November 2013
*
Jenny Jones, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
Jenny Jones' "Green Leaves" campaign against membership of the European Union
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones of Moulsecoomb, Jenny Jones, Baroness
1949 births
Living people
Politicians from Brighton and Hove
Councillors in the London Borough of Southwark
English environmentalists
British Eurosceptics
Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II
Life peers created by Elizabeth II
Alumni of the UCL Institute of Archaeology
People associated with the UCL Institute of Archaeology
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Green Party of England and Wales life peers
British women archaeologists
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Green Party of England and Wales parliamentary candidates
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