The High Court has ruled that the Mayor of London’s expansion of the city’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) can go ahead, after five Conservative led councils challenged the policy.
The change will see the zone expanded to outer London areas like Hillingdon, Bexley, Bromley and Croydon, and will see drivers charged up to £12.50 a day to drive more polluting vehicles in the zone from August 29.
Sadiq Khan said: “This landmark decision is good news as it means we can proceed with cleaning up the air in outer London”
“The decision to expand Ulez was very difficult and not something I took lightly and I continue to do everything possible to address any concerns Londoners may have.”
“The Ulez has already reduced toxic nitrogen dioxide air pollution by nearly half in central London and a fifth in inner London. The coming expansion will see five million more Londoners able to breathe cleaner air.”
BREAKING: My statement on today’s ULEZ High Court ruling: pic.twitter.com/b9nYaOGTZh
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) July 28, 2023
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The news comes after the policy played a role in the tightly fought Uxbridge by-election, which saw Conservative victor Steve Tuckwell describe the policy as being behind the win.
“Sadiq Khan has lost Labour this election and we know that it was his damaging and costly Ulez policy that lost them this election,” he said upon the announcement that he had gained former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s old seat.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 live yesterday Kier Starmer urged Sadiq Khan to “reflect” on the scheme and whether there was more that could be done to help people who would struggle to afford less polluting and more expensive vehicles, such as improving the scrappage scheme.
“You must have been disappointed to have lost in Uxbridge?”
Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner MP says the party “knew it was going to be a stretch”, adding the ULEZ charge and scrappage scheme issues locally played a part.
Politics Hub 👉 https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3
📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/WRXTIWMwCr
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 21, 2023
Speaking to Sky News last week, Deputy Mayor of London Angela Rayner also said “There was the local issue around the Ulez charge and that’s something we need to reflect on”.
She added that both Labour and the Conservatives needed to reflect on how to better help people “make the right decision” through introducing the “appropriate scrappage” to improve financial support.
Sadiq Khan, however, has remained firm, speaking to journalists at a conference last week, he responded to claims about Ulez being the Uxbridge election last week by saying: “I’ve lived in London my entire life. This seat’s never been Labour while I’ve been alive, including in 1997 during the Tony Blair landslide”.
He added that while the decision was difficult to take “just like nobody will accept drinking dirty water, why accept dirty air?”
BREAKING: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan doubles down on the expansion of the city’s controversial ULEZ charge, after disappointing result in Uxbridge.
Politics Hub 👉 https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/F0wLJMKB00
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 21, 2023
