Mayor of London says he is ‘determined’ to press ahead after Sir Keir Starmer says it was ‘the reason we didn’t win’
Source - Daily Telegraph - 21/07/23
Sadiq Khan has insisted that the Ulez expansion will go ahead despite Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner voicing concerns after Labour’s loss in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election.
Mr Khan, the Mayor of London, said he was “determined” to press ahead with the tax, which will see around 10 per cent of drivers in outer London pay £12.50 per day to take their cars on the roads from from Aug 29.
The Ulez expansion has come under fresh scrutiny after being blamed for Labour’s failure to take Uxbridge and South Ruislip on Thursday, despite polling that showed the Conservatives were likely to lose it.
Sir Keir, the Labour leader, said on Friday there was “no denying that Ulez was the reason we didn’t win in Uxbridge”, and said both he and Mr Khan “need to reflect on that” after the Conservatives held the seat by a margin of fewer than 500 votes.
Steve Tuckwell, the new Tory MP, campaigned against the expansion of Ulez, which will include the constituency and other outer boroughs from next month.
Sir Keir and Ms Rayner, his deputy, have admitted that their support for Ulez during the cost of living crisis eroded support for Labour in the seat.
Speaking in Selby and Ainsty on Friday, Sir Keir said: “There’s no denying that Ulez was the reason we didn’t win in Uxbridge, and we all need to reflect on that and the Mayor needs to reflect on that.”
He added that he did “not want it [the defeat] to take away from what’s happened here in Selby and Ainsty”, where Labour won a safe Conservative seat in another by-election.
The comments put him on a collision course with Mr Khan, one of Labour’s most high-profile elected officials.
Supporters of the scheme argue that it is the only way to reduce air pollution in London, which has reached dangerous levels in some areas.
But detractors say Mr Khan is using it as a cash cow to support the ailing Transport for London network, which has struggled financially since the Covid pandemic.
The policy has divided the Labour Party, with some MPs and campaigners arguing that the expansion should be delayed to avoid burdening households with more bills at a time of economic crisis.
Sir Keir previously supported the expansion, but accepted there were issues with the “scrappage” scheme, which provides funding to poorer drivers who replace their cars with greener models.
On Friday morning, Ms Rayner admitted that Londoners “can’t afford” the scheme and appeared to blame Mr Khan for the party’s performance in Uxbridge.
“The result in Uxbridge tells you that people want to do the right thing, but they don’t want to be penalised because they can’t afford to change their vehicles and there isn’t a scrappage scheme that complies with the legislation to help them do the right behaviours,” she told BBC Breakfast.
She warned that Labour has “got to recognise that people need compensation and need a way to do that which isn’t going to impact on their cost-of-living crisis when people can’t afford it”.
Mr Khan, who will stand again in the London mayoral elections in May, has resisted attempts by the Government and Labour MPs to undermine his scheme.
Speaking on Friday, he said: “Of course I am disappointed this seat, which has never been Labour in my lifetime, didn’t go Labour last night. Obviously, I welcome the seven per cent swing to Labour in this outer London seat. We’re determined to clear the air.”
On Friday morning, a City Hall source distanced him from the loss in Uxbridge, arguing that the by-election was “always going to be difficult” for Labour.
“Labour hasn’t won this seat for five decades, and Tony Blair didn’t even win it during the 1997 landslide,” the source said. “Sadiq has always been clear that expanding the Ulez was a really difficult decision, but necessary to save the lives of young and vulnerable Londoners.”
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