London ULEZ: Sadiq Khan given ultimatum to stop £12.50 expansion as families ‘will be left with no cash’
Sadiq Khan has been warned the expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) could leave people with no cash and without a home.
The Mayor of London has pledged to expand the ULEZ zone to cover all of Greater London by August 29. He argues the expansion will result in cleaner air for five million Londoners and save the lives of 4,000 people a year.
However, the expansion has been met with huge resistance from politicians, residents groups and businesses from across the capital. About 200,000 more drivers a day will be forced to pay the £12.50 levy.
The Mayor faced extra pressure on Tuesday (February 14) after three of his Labour party peers called for a delay in the expansion amid pressure from constituents and after campaigners staged a rally. Long-serving Labour MP Siobhan McDonagh said there had been no formal consultation from the Mayor about the scheme’s expansion.
She cited the case of a constituent called Karen, who is on carers allowance looking after her elderly parents. She warned that the expansion of the scheme will mean that she cannot go to the supermarket, or to take her parents to Richmond Park.
The Mitcham and Morden MP said of Karen’s case: “There’s no way she can afford to replace her car, even with the scrappage scheme… her carers allowance, her only income, is less than the £12.50 daily charge.”
She also told LBC’s Nick Ferrari it would make it “so very hard” for many people including key workers in her constituency, adding: “I want clean air and I completely understand the motivation for the Mayor’s policy. What I’m concerned about is how do you get cleaner air and not make it so very hard for so many people.”
Shadow business minister and Feltham and Heston MP Seema Malhotra also said she was concerned at the “disproportionate” impact on low-income Londoners and small businesses.
Jon Cruddas, Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham, said: “This should have been delayed until we were on the other side of the cost-of-living crisis.”
Despite the backlash, Labour sources told MyLondon that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer backs Mr Khan on expanding scheme. The concerns from the three politicians Mirror concerns expressed by some Conservative-run London boroughs who are exploring options for a legal challenge against the expansion.
Nick Arlett, one of the coordinators of campaign group Action Against ULEZ, who hosted a protest in Bromley on Saturday, also warned people would be “left with little or no money”.
Mr Arlett cited the case of a man who was left with nothing but his van after leaving his wife and kids. He told MyLondon: “He ended up living in his van and this will be taken away if the expansion goes ahead.”
He continued: “I don’t think Sadiq Khan has considered the impact on people in the slightest and is completely out of touch. He is attempting to simply price people completely off the road.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said “Sadiq refuses to sit back and do nothing when lives are being lost and urges these local authorities to support his plans to bring cleaner air to every Londoner – wherever they live in the capital.”
