By Ilaria Grasso Macola
A new poll commissioned by London mayor Sadiq Khan over the ULEZ expansion to Greater London directly contradicts reports of consultation responses against the decision.
Figures published today by YouGov show that 51 per cent of Londoners are in favour of the expansion plans, against an opposition of 27 per cent.
Out of this majority, 8 per cent of respondents believe the expansion – which would come into effect in August next year – should be postponed to a later date.
Those coming from outer London voted in favour of binning the plan, while the majority of inner Londoners remained committed to the expansion.
“It’s clear that Londoners now want the zone to be expanded given the immense harm air pollution is still causing in our city – from cancer to dementia,” the mayor commented.
“Expansion of the ULEZ would lead to five million more people being able to breathe cleaner, less polluted air.”
Commenting on today’s data, GLA Conservatives’s transport spokesperson Nick Rogers said: “The official results of the consultation were leaked last week, showing two thirds voted against Sadiq Khan’s toxic ULEZ expansion and that some opposition votes may have been improperly excluded.
Documents seen by the Telegraph last week showed that 66 per cent of respondents to the official consultation – which ran this summer separately from the poll – were opposed to expanding the low-emission zone.
Rogers thencalled on Khan to subject the consultation to public scrutiny after allegations of incorrect voting emerged.
He accused TfL of excluding “entries for being ‘duplicate or not genuine’ in a way that has disproportionately affected opposition votes.”
City Hall rebutted the accusations, deeming them “categorically untrue.”
“He [Khan] committed to scrapping his policy if it was overwhelmingly rejected in the consultation, and has no choice now but to do so,” Rogers added today.
Khan had in fact told the Evening Standard he would scrap the proposal if met with “an overwhelming opposition.”
However, the mayor has maintained he will “carefully consider all responses to the public consultation and Londoners’ views.”
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