WBTimes report that “Floella Benjamin ditched the teddy bear props” when she joined Lib Dem candidate for Brent Central, Sarah Teather this week. Floella joined Sarah on Harlesden High Street to collect signatures in Harlesden, to sign up residents to a petition urging the government to reform air passenger duty.
Air Passenger Duty (APD) is an excise duty which is charged on the carriage of passengers flying from a United Kingdom airport. The levy takes distance into account, making long distance flying significantly more expensive. The charges rose on November 1, 2009 and will rise again on November 1, 2010.
The APD hits Brent residents with family overseas, especially those with family outside of the Eurozone. Sarah Teather is campaigning for a reform of the APD and will no doubt continue this work to reform the structure in an incoming Lib Dem government.
According to the WBTimes, “Mrs Benjamin also revealed she considered running as the Lib Dem candidate for Mayor in 2007 - but decided not to after her mother warned her about the pitfalls of a career in politics.”