The Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has declared war on our city’s drivers with harmful, ineffective, and punitive policies, forced through against the will and interests of my constituents in Finchley & Golders Green.
ULEZ
On 29th August 2023, Mayor Khan expanded the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) to cover the entirety of Greater London, following on from his 2021 expansion up to the A406 North Circular road which cut my constituency in half and forced those in the south to either scrap their vehicles, or pay the punitive £12.50 a day charge.
I have made my opposition to Mayor Khan's ULEZ tax on drivers clear before, and on the significant flaws in his nonsensical ambition to expand a failing system.
- REGRESSIVE - the ULEZ charge is a REGRESSIVE tax on the lowest-paid
- INEFFECTIVE – as per Mayor Khan’s own report, ULEZ expansion is INEFFECTIVE in tackling air pollution
- TAX ON CARERS - For the average full-time carer, the ULEZ represents a 15% TAX on their take-home pay
- TAX ON TRADESPEOPLE - ULEZ expansion will be DAMAGING for London-based tradespeople, with an inadequate supply of ULEZ-compliant trade vehicles available to buy
Whatever Mayor Khan may claim is the motivation for ULEZ expansion, the facts speak for themselves.
This ineffective, unworkable policy for outer-London, rather than being for the good of those living in the suburbs, instead represents a cynical CASH GRAB by Mayor Khan to plug the hole in London’s finances caused by his own poor fiscal management.
Londoners, especially those most vulnerable to this tax on drivers, should not have to pay for this Labour Mayor's INCOMPETENCE.
PAY-PER-MILE
Every car you have, every mile you drive, Labour will be taxing you
Millions of drivers are in danger of being hit by a new pay-per-mile road tax under plans being formulated by Mayor Khan and the Labour Party in London.
Mayor Khan is plotting to build a new pricing system for London’s roads, using the ULEZ camera system to tax London’s drivers for EVERY MILE THEY DRIVE.
Under the plans for this punitive new system, drivers could incur charges based on:
- the length of the trip taken
- the congestion levels on the roads
- the levels of pollution emitted
Mayor Khan’s plans are an unacceptable TAX GRAB on Londoners, and he and the Labour Party MUST be opposed.
My colleague, the Transport Secretary, has already written to Labour leader Keir Starmer to make clear that the Government would BLOCK Labour from bringing in road charging. This is entirely right, and is an important step in preventing Labour from pricing Londoners out of their cars.
There is more to be done, and I can assure constituents that I will campaign against any and all policies introduced by this Labour Mayor which disadvantage drivers in my constituency.
Only the Conservatives can be trusted to work in the interests of London’s drivers.
Further links and resources can be found below
My e-bulletin on the latest ULEZ expansion: https://mailchi.mp/2e6f3d0e0ae6/news-from-finchley-golders-green-u6nom0…
The Times - Ulez expansion: do Sadiq Khan's ‘toxic air’ claims stack up? : https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ulez-expansion-zone-sadiq-khan-claim…
The Mayor of London-commissioned Jacobs Report into the effectiveness of ULEZ expansion in tackling air pollution: https://www.mikefreer.com/sites/www.mikefreer.com/files/2023-05/Jacobs%…
