London mayoral election: Lib Dem candidate in Olympics fund pledge

Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Caroline Pidgeon has promised an "Olympic effort" to rejuvenate London's housing by 2020.

Ms Pidgeon plans to retain the annual £20 Olympic precept set up ten years ago and channel it into house-building.

Launching her party's manifesto, she said it would pay for 50,000 council homes and 150,000 homes to rent.

Housing has also been at the centre of the other parties' mayoral manifestos published so far.

Conservative Zac Goldsmith has pledged to boost house-building to 50,000 a year.

Labour's Sadiq Khan has vowed to "name and shame" poor landlords, and Green candidate Sian Berry has outlined plans for rent controls in the capital.

'No fantasy economics'

Ms Pidgeon, who sits on the London Assembly, told an an audience in Deptford, south London, she was not in the election "to be something, but to do something".

Ms Pidgeon was shown bricklaying techniques at Lewisham Southwark College, where she launched her manifesto to help train construction workers

She said the Olympic precept element of council tax would also be used to set up a Greater London Authority run construction company to build new homes, and a construction academy to train young Londoners in planning and construction skills.

Other plans in the manifesto include:

• One hour bus ticket

• Half-price fares before 07:30 for people using Transport for London Tube and rail services

• Recruiting 3,000 extra police to focus on transport hubs

• Additional childcare for parents working long hours and training more child minders.

Ms Pidgeon described herself as "optimistic about the future, and about the power of the mayoral office to make a difference to every Londoner's life".

She said the Lib Dem manifesto shows "that you don't have to preach fantasy economics to promise change".