Vince Cable

Vincent Cable MP blamed London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, for creating a "totally baseless story about the loss of Freedom Passes" after he was approached by a concerned delegation from Richmond's Forum for Older People. Major Livingstone had written to them warning that there was a "threat" to the Freedom Pass, which provides free travel for pensioners and the disabled. Livingstone has written to large numbers of pensioners and their representatives warning that the Freedom Pass was at risk because of amendments to a Parliamentary Bill (which have not been pressed, in the event) depriving the Mayor of 'reserve powers' in this area. London councils, including Richmond, are fully committed to the scheme, which they operate, but see no reason why the Mayor should be involved.

Vincent Cable said: "The pensioners who came to see me were very worried. They had been alarmed by a letter they had received from Mayor Livingstone claiming that there was a threat to the Freedom Pass. What he really meant was that there was a threat to his role continuing to play a role in a scheme administered by local councils; not the same thing, at all. This is a cruel scare. The Mayor should know better than to frighten elderly and disabled people as part of a tussle with councils over who administers the scheme."