Labour politicians incoherent and contradictory on Freedom Pass cuts

5.01.41pm GMT Fri 29th Jan 2010

Bridget Fox campaigning to save the Freedom Pass with pensioners at the St. Luke's centre.

Islington's Labour politicians are incoherent and are contradicting each other on the Government's £29 million cuts to the Freedom Pass - leaving Islington pensioners in the dark as to Labour's intentions.

The Labour Government got its sums wrong on a national free travel scheme for pensioners and failed to fund it properly. Gordon Brown's Government clawed back £29 million from the Freedom Pass in London, forcing council tax payers to make up the funding - and potentially putting the scheme at risk if councils cannot find the money.

But Islington MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Emily Thornberry declared that there is "no threat to the Freedom Pass" - claiming that the Government funding was just a "bonus" and that the cuts are justified.

But now Labour Assembly Members, including Islington's Labour Assembly Member Jeanette Arnold, have backed a cross-party resolution at the GLA which "deplores the Government's plan to halve its contribution" to the Freedom Pass, and demands that the Labour Government "abandon this u-turn on their original agreement". Labour Assembly Member John Biggs described the Labour Government's cuts as "bad news for cash-strapped boroughs and for people who rely on concessionary fares."

Islington resident Lorraine Constantinou, said:

"All these incoherent and contradictory messages mean you just don't know what a vote for Labour even means any more. I think they are just trying to be all things to all people, so it's hard to trust anything they say."

Islington's Lib Dem council leader Terry Stacy commented:

"Labour are all over the place. As we've seen from the coup attempts against Gordon Brown, Labour's internal organisation is clearly falling apart.

"Locally, we have one lot of Labour politicians backing the Government cuts to the Freedom Pass, while another lot are campaigning against them. We've got a Labour Government which is threatening to make cuts to our local A&E services at the Whittington, while local Labour politicians are trying to save their own skins by campaigning against these cuts.

"The Liberal Democrats have led the campaign on these issues. It's clear to everyone exactly where we stand."