David Cameron ended weeks of speculation over his party's willingness to retain free off-peak travel for the over-60s and those entitled to concessionary travel, should the Conservative Party be elected to government next spring. Many had feared that the scheme's £1 billion price tag, needed to reimburse operators for the free rides, would be one of the 'hard choices' a new Tory administration would allow to fall by the wayside.
Cameron told the Yorkshire Evening Post that the
English National Concessionary Scheme is popular and "would not be axed". He felt clarification was needed after Labour made numerous implications that the Tories would disband the scheme.
Mr Cameron said: "There is no doubt it is very popular and the scaremongering stories of the Government which they like to put around are just that, scaremongering."
(GL)
