HAVING recognised the folly of withdrawing pensioner leisure passes, it was lamentable that Haringey s Labour councillors couldn t step back gracefully and scrap this shabby little cost-cutting exercise. Instead of doing the decent thing, they have tamely

HAVING recognised the folly of withdrawing pensioner leisure passes, it was lamentable that Haringey's Labour councillors couldn't step back gracefully and scrap this shabby little cost-cutting exercise. Instead of doing the decent thing, they have tamely voted through a revision which will limit free leisure pass access for senior citizens from 9am to 5pm - as if life was that simple.

This may suit some older folk, but it certainly will not suit them all. For instance, some of the older people who use leisure facilities to help keep body and soul together, rely on friends or family to take them to the centres. These helpful people usually have jobs to do and would be unavailable to assist during normal working hours.

As public pressure mounted the proposal for a complete ban was replaced with a partial ban in the space of a few days. What level of proper thought or consultation could have been involved in supporting the revised decision?

If Monday night's vote was a face-saving exercise, it hasn't worked. The end product is that the councillors who took the vote neither had the courage to stick by their guns by backing the original proposal, nor to admit that the idea of axeing passes was always a mistake - which could only be rectified by stepping away from the whole sorry shambles.