Norris's own goal
From John Stansby Sir: How can my old friend Steve Norris make such an appalling gaffe (`Blair is my best recruiting sergeant', 5 June)? He not only mistakenly attributes, like so many Londoners, the old age pensioners' free London Transport pass to Ken Livingstone, but confuses it with 'Fares Fair'. In fact, the OAP pass was introduced by the last GLC Conservative administration of Desmond Plummer and was retained by Horace Cutler. Ken kept the benefit but, with his marketing flair, gave it the snappy new name of 'Freedom Pass'.
Fares Fair was his attempt to make all bus fares for Londoners free, and since there was no means of paying for such a concession (unlike the annual grant LT received of some £22 million for the OAP pass) it was rightly ruled illegal.
If Steve Norris is prepared to concede such an own goal to his opponent, what chance has he of beating him?
John Stansby
Via email
Previous page
