Ninety per cent of cab drivers opposed, 80 per cent of outer London businesses opposed and 80 per cent of outer London employees opposed.
One would think that these statistics demonstrate a clear lack of public support for the capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), yet the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has decided to plough ahead with his plans to add another stealth tax on people across London and the home counties.
I want to pay tribute to the Conservative councils in outer London and the home counties that have joined together to seek a judicial review against the decision of Mayor Khan to introduce ULEZ.
We continually hear Labour talk about the situation we face with the cost of living, yet when it comes to bringing forward practicable solutions, the answer seems to be introducing further taxation on the most vulnerable.
Indeed, Transport for London’s (TfL) own data supports the fact that those who are most likely to be penalised by ULEZ are the most vulnerable residents in London.
“Those who are most likely to be penalised by ULEZ are the most vulnerable residents in London”
Is the issue of air pollution important? Yes, of course. But ULEZ is simply not the answer.
Data from TfL suggests that in my own London Borough of Bexley, pollution would fall by a mere 0.3 per cent and this seems to be the trend across most of the outer London boroughs.
With the Mayor of London ploughing £400 million of taxpayers’ money into this vanity project, this money would be better spent improving public transport connectivity in outer London.
Evidently, the Mayor has failed to bring the communities he represents along with his policies. Across London, we have seen mass protests and outcry over the lack of consultation for residents.
When talking to people on the doorstep, you can feel the genuine sense of anger.
ULEZ is the perfect case study for local government to use on how not to implement policy. My message to councillors is this: public opinion must always be at the heart of decision-making in local authorities.