Labour has launched a campaign against Government plans to hit local commuters with a 40% Super Peak fares hike.

After David Cameron's broken promise to hard pressed commuters to cap this year's rail fare rises, the misery for passengers is set to continue with the Government's plans to introduce new Super Peak tickets,

At a time when transport costs are rising and people across the country are facing a real squeeze, commuters paying thousands for a season ticket should not be forced off peak-time trains.  If they get away with introducing these new Super Peak tickets, the Government's plans suggest peak time prices could go up by a staggering 40% on top of planned fare rises over just five years.

This out of touch Government seems intent on pricing many commuters off the services they rely on to get to work.  That is why the Labour Party is campaigning against these plans and is calling on the Government to think again.

This week I was drawn second for Prime Minister's Questions and took the opportunity to raise the subject of Lewisham Hospital once again.

You can read the exchange in full in Hansard.

London Overground has recently announced plans to reconfigure the New Cross Gate train depot.  Most London Overground trains are to be extended from four to five carriages to enable them to carry more passengers, so changes to the existing depot are also necessary.

To allow for longer trains they need to make a number of changes to the site, including:

• Extending the train maintenance shed by 20m north
• Extending the wheel lathe/heavy cleaning shed by 20m north

There will also  be minor changes to reconfigure the bays used to maintain the trains and revise the interior layout of the shed to accommodate the larger trains.

Nearly all of these changes could be made within the existing depot site, but in order to extend the maintenance shed London Overground would need to move the existing retaining wall by 20m north (i.e. further towards Surrey Canal Road).

London Overground will be seeking planning permission from the London Borough of Lewisham and as part of the process would like to hear your views.  You can either email your comments to consultations@tfl.gov.uk or submit them online at www.tfl.gov.uk/newcrossgate.

They will also be holding the following community information sessions:

Haberdashers’ Aske’s Hatcham College (Dining Hall)
Jerningham Road, London SE14 5NY at the following times:
Saturday 23 March 10.00-13.00
Thursday 28 March 17.00-20.00

The Lions Centre, Millwall Community Scheme, The Den, Zampa
Road, London SE16 3LN at the following times:
Tuesday 26 March 16.00-19.30
Wednesday 27 March 16.00-19.30

On Friday 8th March I joined Doreen Lawrence and Shami Chakrabarti in celebrating International Women's Day and the Stephen Lawrence Women’s Awards 2013.

In the year that marks the 20th anniversary of Stephen's tragic death, the Stephen Lawrence Trust wanted to take the opportunity to recognise inspirational women from the local community.  Awards were presented to honour the achievements of women from Lewisham, Southwark and Greenwich.

I gave a short speech outlining my experiences as a woman in politics and took part in a discussion on how individuals can make a difference.  You can reach my speech in full here.

As you may know, today (8th March) is International Women's Day.  To mark the occasion, on Wednesday 6th March the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art held a lecture on Margot Asquith, wife of Herbert Henry Asquith who was Prime Minister from 1908-1916.

I was asked to introduce the speaker, Professor Krista Cowman from the University of Lincoln.  Professor Cowman is a historian and has published widely on the women’s suffrage movement.  Her current research project is on Feminism and Historical Memory in Europe.    She is a founder member of the Women’s History Network and the former editor of the Labour History Review.

You can read my introduction and speech - which draws on my experiences as a woman in politics - here.

Parliamentary copyright image reproduced with the permission of Parliament.