Islington Council funds 24-hour Freedom Pass

5.01.54pm GMT Thu 12th Mar 2009

Councillor Greg Foxsmith

Islington Council has agreed to additional funding to enable older people to use their Freedom Passes on London's buses, tubes, and the overground - for 24 hours a day. This will be invaluable for Islington's pensioners - and proves conclusively that the Labour party systematically lied during their 2008 London election campaign.

Previously, the concessionary travel bonus on TfL-run services did not start until 9.30 am on a weekday. But from 1 April 2009, Freedom Pass holders will be able to travel at all hours. There are over 26,000 Freedom Pass holders in Islington, and between them they make over 8,000,000 bus and tube journeys each year - some of the highest usage rates in the capital.

The Freedom Pass is paid for and run by London's boroughs. Islington will contribute £7,352,548 this year.

During the London Mayoral elections, the Labour Party claimed that the Liberal Democrats and the Tories were conspiring to scrap the Freedom Pass. This was never true, and now the introduction of the extended 24-hour Freedom Pass proves that Labour were scaremongering and lying to people to get votes.

Councillor Greg Foxsmith Islington's Executive Member for Transport said:

"The Freedom Pass can be a lifeline against loneliness and isolation for many residents, and it should offer some help in the current difficult economic climate. Boris, like his predecessor Ken, tries to claim the credit for this extension, but they have not provided funding. The credit should actually go to the Islington council tax payer, who is funding this to the tune of £7.5 million.

"Ken - and his Labour cronies here in Islington - claimed there was a plot to scrap the Freedom Pass. That was a lie, they knew it was a lie, and now everyone knows it was a lie. From Weapons of Mass Destruction to the Freedom Pass you just cannot believe a word that Labour says."