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Undertaking an ambitious tour covering the span of London’s worst tube for toilet access in a day, Caroline Russell AM spoke to countless Londoners and heard a unanimous consensus: London’s tubes need toilets now.
The tour, done in just a day, included stops up and down the whole Northern Line from Hendon Central to Morden, including the 12-station toilet desert from Kennington to Morden. Throughout the tour, Caroline spoke to Londoners, who expressed their outrage and marked their feelings on a chart showing whether they wanted more toilets or not. The consensus was unanimous: London needs more public toilets.
Along the way, Caroline met with London Assembly candidate Kate Tokley, Green candidate for Barnet and Camden constituency.
London Assembly Member Caroline Russell said:
“Travelling the length of the Northern line today, we have heard from so many Londoners how they often need a toilet and can’t find one. They want to see more toilets on the tube network, and can see that Sadiq Khan has just not delivered.
“We need more funding, better awareness and a strategic approach to opening up new and existing toilets to the public. This is particularly important to older and disabled people, anyone travelling with children and mobile workers, all of whom are so often neglected in decision-making.
“For a service as basic as toilets, in a city as rich as London, there is no excuse.”
Green candidate for Mayor of London Zoë Garbett said:
“We know toilets matter. But they also represent something too; in a city like London, is there really not enough money or ability to get such a basic service like this right?
“Greens will prioritise this spending, and act boldly to make our tube network more accessible to support people’s health. That’s the difference a Green Mayor can make.”
Green constituency candidate for Barnet and Camden Kate Tokley added:
“It was great to spend the morning talking to residents about the need for more public toilets across the tube network in Barnet and Camden.
“People should be able to travel and go about North London with confidence that they can use an accessible, free toilet whenever they need to.”
Caroline has campaigned on this issue for years, including issuing reports such as the London Loo League Tables and securing more, if entirely insufficient, TfL funding from Sadiq Khan for more toilets on the transport network. [1]
Zoë Garbett is running for London Mayor alongside a slate of Green candidates for the London Assembly, including Caroline Russell.
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Notes:
Caroline Russell, Zoë Garbett and Kate Tokley are available for interview.
Photos from Caroline’s toilet tour are available on request.
[1] https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023-08/TfL%20Toilet%20Report%20FINAL.pdf ; https://www.mylondon.news/news/transport/london-underground-set-more-toilets-28467200