An outgoing Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member has called for the establishment of a regional Parliament for London. 

As part of her farewell speech at Liberal Democrat Conference this weekend, Caroline Pidgeon MBE AM asked for the establishment of a devolved London parliament like that of the Welsh and Scottish Parliaments. 

Ms Pidgeon said: "We should continue to call out the whole structure of the Greater London Authority (GLA) too. A Mayor who is powerful in his own court but a feeble figure in the country, and an assembly which does a great job of scrutiny but too often lacks the power it needs." 

Criticizing Conservative and Labour leadership in equal measure on their 'half-hearted' moves to reform Britain, she said: "Since when were rights something you had to request?"

Referencing the Brexit vote, Pidgeon argued that the vote to 'take back control' was not a vote to centralise more power in Whitehall and Westminster, but rather to bring control closer back to local communities and regions that have long felt neglected or left behind.  

Commenting after the speech, Pidgeon said: "The result of the Brexit referendum was a tragedy, but one message I took from it was one of frustration; a sense that politics doesn't really respond to what people need or what they worry about." 

Talking of her time on the Assembly, Ms Pidgeon described the London Assembly as a great scrutiny body, but as an organisation lacking in any real powers to enact meaningful change. 

Pidgeon advocated instead for real power to be devolved to a regional London Parliament, citing the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments as successful models to follow.

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She noted that all of England could follow suit with regional parliaments with responsibilities over areas such as health, housing and education. 

In her concluding remarks after the speech, Pidgeon said: "A proper Parliament for London, with real power, including over raising and spending money would serve as a powerful force to drive forward London and for Londoners to have a greater say over the future of their city and their communities." 

The Liberal Democrats have long supported the devolution of power away from central government and have supported the idea of a federal UK, where the regions and nations that make up the UK would have more power as in countries like Canada and Australia.