Boris Johnson calls on Londoners to fight Sadiq Khan’s ‘mad lefty’ Ulez tax
Boris Johnson has called Londoners to fight Sadiq Khan’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez) expansion plan, calling it a “mad lefty” tax.
In a video published on Twitter on Wednesday, the former prime minister said the mayor’s expansion was “unreasonable and unnecessary”, and needed to be stopped.
Mr Johnson, who served as London mayor between 2008 and 2016 called on people to stop the mayor’s “mad plan” and fight against money being taken off motorists at a “very difficult time”.
Mr Johnson is the latest high-profile Conservative politician to come out against the Ulez expansion after Rishi Sunak called it an “unfair tax on drivers”. Labour leader Keir Starmer has previously backed the mayor’s stance, saying it was a difficult decision that needed to be made.
In his video, Mr Johnson said that it was only central London where emissions were a problem and by 2030 all new cars would be “much cleaner and greener”.
He added: “There is only one reason why [Mr Khan] is expanding Ulez, because he has bankrupted TfL because of mismanagement of the finances of London, and he wants to rake in money from motorists outside of London.”
In August the mayor is set to expand the Ulez zone to cover all 32 boroughs in London, with vehicles that fail to meet emissions standards being forced to pay £12.50 every day to travel.
On Wednesday, LBC revealed that three outer London Labour MPs had come out against the expansions, with Seema Malhotra, MP for Feltham and Heston, Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and Rainham, and Siobhain McDonagh, MP for Mitcham and Morden, all raising concerns over the plans.
Ms Malhotra said the plans would have a ‘disproportionate effect on lower income families and the self-employed who use their vehicle for work’.
Currently Mr Khan is facing a number of challenges both in and outside London, with eight out of 24 London boroughs pledging to block the installation of Ulez cameras within their boundaries. Four of those boroughs, Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon, are also currently weighing up legal action against the expansion.
Mr Khan is also facing pressure from councils that border London, with Surrey, Kent, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Essex all stating that they would block any signage warning drivers they are entering a Ulez zone from being installed.
