The organisers of the London 2012 Olympics promised the most inclusive Games ever. We were told that the Games would be “highly affordable” and that “half the tickets would cost £20 or less”.

On 15th October, we discovered what is really going to happen.

Of the 8.8 million tickets that will go on sale, only 2.5 million (about a third) will cost £20 or less. Of this 2.5 million, 1.3 million will be reserved primarily for schoolchildren, leaving just 1.2 million £20 tickets for everyone else in London, the UK and the rest of the world.  And of those 1.2 million tickets, many will be allocated to the 30 or so football matches taking place throughout the UK.

One piece of good news is that disabled people and their carers will get a fair deal – specifically, when disabled people need to be accompanied by a carer, their carer will get into the Games free. I have lobbied for a long time for this concession and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) has finally agreed.

However, in most other areas the news is not so good.

I fully accept that getting the Olympic ticketing prices right is immensely complicated. I also accept that, to provide cheap tickets for the majority, it is necessary to charge high prices for some of the more high profile events such as the opening and closing ceremonies. But the right balance has not been reached – and it certainly won’t be if the allocation of affordable tickets is heavily weighted towards just a few of the sporting events.

No-one should be distracted by the repeated claims made by some media commentators that ticket prices for the Olympics hardly matter. It is just tedious to keep hearing ill-informed comparisons between Olympic ticket prices and the most expensive tickets at Premiership football matches. This argument is utter nonsense as the two are not comparable.

The Olympics should be an event that everyone in this country has an opportunity to share in and enjoy. It will be a once in a lifetime event for most people and, besides, they’ve had to subsidise these Games through their taxes.

The Games are costing £9.3 billion, some of that funded from general taxation paid for by every UK taxpayer, some paid for by the £20 contributions made by London’s Band D council taxpayers since 2006. Indeed, Londoners have contributed significantly to paying for the Games – yet they are gaining no special privileges when it comes to buying tickets.

Access to the Games for Londoners, irrespective of the size of their bank balance, should not be overlooked. You may think London is a wealthy city yet there are big disparities of income and wealth. Regrettably, many families, whether in London or elsewhere in the country, are being let down and simply won’t be able to afford to go to any of the ticketed events.

So I am proposing two specific changes that would go a long way towards ensuring that the Games are open to all.

First, we need a categorical assurance that the affordable tickets are available for the widest range of events throughout the Games.

Second, we need a ticketing policy that recognises the financial circumstances of the deprived communities surrounding the Olympic Park. This relatively small group of people has lived next to the largest construction site in Europe for the past five years. They deserve special treatment, considering the level of noise, traffic and disruption that has affected their daily lives. They should get discounted tickets. And if this seems like special pleading on behalf of a specific part of London, I would challenge anyone to visit the Olympic Park and the surrounding communities, and see for themselves.

If the Olympic organisers tackle these two issues, they might come close to honouring the promises they made in Singapore to residents in London and elsewhere in the UK. If they don’t, the likely public backlash will severely damage the reputation of the Games.

Dee Doocey is a Liberal Democrat member of the London Assembly.