By Jessica Frank-Keyes
Sadiq Khan is prepared to review the expansion of the ULEZ policy, but remains committed to delivering it, City A.M. understands.
The London mayor has faced criticism after opposition to his plans to roll out the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ) across the capital played into the Uxbridge by-election defeat.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer suggested at the party’s national policy forum this weekend that “we are doing something very wrong if policies put forward by the Labour Party end up on each and every Tory leaflet”.
The £12.50 ULEZ daily charge for the drivers of polluting vehicles proved unpopular with voters in the car-reliant west London seat, where newly-elected Tory MP Steve Tuckwell led a successful campaign.
It was reported that Khan was in “constructive listening mode”, according to the Sunday Times, and planned to look at reviewing the policy in a bid to help struggling motorists.
City A.M. understands from sources close to the mayor that he is open to ideas to further mitigate the impact of expansion, such as widening the scrappage fund to help replace old non-compliant cars, as long as they do not reduce the effectiveness at combating air pollution.
Ultimately, the sources said that Khan still believes expanding ULEZ is the right thing to do to save lives from air pollution and tackle the climate crisis.
The policy is currently subject to a judicial review.
Wider green row
It comes amid a wider row over the impact of green policies after Thursday’s by-election results, with both Labour and Tory MPs fearing costly environmental policy risk losing votes.
Levelling up secretary Michael Gove has warned net zero should not become a “religious crusade” while Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg told GB News it was time for government to be “getting rid of unpopular, expensive green policies” such as the pledge to scrap petrol cars by 2030.
Sir Keir has also recently rolled back a Labour pledge to borrow £28bn a year to invest in green energy as he attempts to plant his party’s flag firmly in the sands of fiscal prudence.
YouGov pollsters found that opposition to similar road surcharges has increased by nine percentage points.
Half of all Brits – 51 per cent – are now opposed to a ULEZ-like scheme in their local area, including 36 per cent who say they are strongly against the idea. Around a third (34 per cent) say they are in favour of ULEZ-style schemes in their neighbourhoods, researchers found.
Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall has pledged to scrap ULEZ on day one if she is elected to lead City Hall.
