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Our Pass meddlers
• RICHARD Best asks the Tribune to publish, and shame, the names of the politicians who are meddling with the Freedom Pass (Hands off our pass, August 31). I would like to name and shame the following Islington politicians: councillors Mouna Hamitouche and Wally Burgess.
These Labour councillors tried to pass a motion at the last council meeting aimed at frightening older and vulnerable people in order to increase the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone’s income.
Islington’s Lib Dem council has made it clear it is committed to continuing the present wide range of transport services that Freedom Pass holders can use, but that it doesn’t want the spendthrift Mr Livingstone to take Islington’s taxpayers for a ride at the same time.
The Freedom Pass levy has been turned by Mr Livingstone into another stealth tax, and another way of squeezing money out of council tax-payers. By putting the price up and up – over and above the quarter of every council tax bill that the Mayor already seizes – Transport for London and Mr Livingstone are holding the taxpayer to ransom.
The price charged to councils now far exceeds that actually needed to provide the service.
The cost of providing the service has not increased (and due to Mr Livingstone’s various deals with South American dictators, it may have decreased), so there is no reason why the cost to the taxpayer should have gone up so dramatically.
In order to stop Mr Livingstone’s meddling and endangering of the Freedom Pass by charging more than taxpayers can afford, the decision on charging should be taken independently, based on the actual costs of providing the service.
I hope that this naming and shaming is sufficient to finally stop their meddling, and their misleading propaganda campaign.
CLLR JOHN GILBERT
LIb Dem executive member for health and adult social care
• RICHARD Best requests a list of all the politicians who are meddling with the freedom pass. I would be more than happy to oblige: Ken Livingstone.
CLLR JOHN GILBERT
Lib Dem, Mildmay ward
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