At Lambeth Council’s Full Council Meeting on Wednesday, Lambeth Labour proposed an Emergency Motion to protect the Freedom Pass for over 33,000 residents in Lambeth.

On the night, when it mattered, Lambeth Liberal Democrats abstained on the vote to protect the Freedom Pass, while the Lambeth Green Party were not even in the room.

Lambeth is the 5th highest borough in Freedom Pass usage, and we believe that losing access to the Freedom Pass would hit the poorest Londoners hardest, at a time when finances are stretched more than ever, with the impact of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat cost-of-living crisis and austerity still felt.

We’ve had several residents write to us and bring it up on the doorstep, so we wanted to reaffirm our support for it in light of the stress and anxiety.

While the Conservative government sought to impose restrictions on the Freedom Pass and attempted to remove free travel for young people through the Zip Oyster card as a condition of funding Transport for London, but not the private rail companies, Labour councils across London have been united in their opposition to any future changes to the scheme that would restrict who could use it or what modes of transport it would apply to.

And we will continue to work with the Labour Mayor of London to support hundreds of thousands of older Londoners being able to enjoy free travel by continuing to provide the 60+ Oyster card alongside other concessions for Londoners.

Lambeth is a borough where the majority of residents do not own a car, with around four in five trips made by public transport, walking or cycling, making affordable public transport essential.
We need to ensure the Freedom Pass is funded sustainably, but this cannot be done at the expense of older Londoners.

We’re proud that Labour is once again standing up for residents and protecting concessionary travel in Lambeth and across London.