Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon has been praised by the Prime Minister for his campaign to remove time restrictions from disabled bus passes.
Andy Burnham told the House of Commons that the Liberal Democrat MP had “run a great campaign” on the issue.
From April 2027, disabled bus pass holders across England will be able to travel for free at any time of day.
Passes are currently only guaranteed to be valid between 9.30am and 11pm on weekdays, although some councils fund additional travel.
Mr Gordon’s campaign began after the issue was raised by a constituent at an event with Disability Action Yorkshire in Harrogate.
Speaking in the Commons, he thanked the Prime Minister for supporting the campaign before calling for further action on companion passes.
These allow disabled people who cannot travel alone to be accompanied free of charge, but their availability currently differs between council areas.
Mr Gordon told MPs he was “really grateful” that “come next year, disability bus passes won’t start at 9.30am, because disabilities don’t either”.
He asked the government to deliver the same cross-party progress on companion passes.
The Prime Minister said:
“I pay tribute to the honourable gentleman. He was kind enough to invite me to a meeting of the all-party group when he was campaigning on that issue, and we did work on it cross-party.
“I was pleased to be able to make that change as Prime Minister. It is something that will benefit a huge number of disabled people.
“But he is right that the job is not done, because many disabled people will say that they cannot go out and live their life without a companion, and sometimes they cannot afford to pay for that.
“There is further work to be done.”
Mr Burnham added:
“I pay credit to the honourable gentleman; he ran a great campaign.”
Mr Gordon said:
“It took nearly two years, but we got there — from April 2027, disabled people across England will be able to use their bus pass whenever they need it, because disabilities don’t clock on at half past nine.
“I’m grateful the Prime Minister came to our event in Parliament, listened to the charities and disabled people in the room, and then actually did something about it. That’s how this place is supposed to work.
“But a bus pass is no use to you if you can’t get on the bus alone and can’t afford a second fare.
“Right now, whether you get a companion pass depends entirely on which side of a council boundary you live on. That is not a policy — it’s a lottery, and disabled people are the ones losing.
“The Prime Minister accepted today that the job isn’t done. I’ll hold him to that. Let’s finish it.”
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