What does this mean for Labour?published at 11:48 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

11:48 BST 28 July 2023

Jonathan Blake
Political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

The ruling may have gone in favour of London's Labour mayor, but it means Ulez will continue to cause a problem for the party as a whole.

Labour blamed the proposed expansion for their loss in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election last week.

If Sadiq Khan had lost it might've proved convenient for the Labour leader Keir Starmer, who eventually distanced himself from the policy and urged Khan to think again.

London's Ulez has become a flashpoint for political debate about green policies in the UK.

Conservatives argue the policy is unfair and, in the wake of their win, Rishi Sunak tried to reassure voters that tackling climate change wouldn't mean hassle and higher costs.

Among ministers and the shadow cabinet, and MPs on all sides, there's debate about how far households should bear the cost of a greener economy.

Yasmin Rufo
Reporting from Bromley

Wandering through the street market in Bromley and speaking to traders, anti-Ulez sentiment is strong.

Many of these traders have had to buy a new van or car because they could not afford to pay £12.50 a day from August.

One trader, Caroline, says she paid £14,500 for a new car and has “had to make big sacrifices” to afford it.

She tells me she wants Bromley to appeal against today's court ruling and “fight to protect and save the people in outer London”.

Others say they are reconsidering their livelihood - a man who has been running a fruit and veg stall for 30 years says he can’t afford to buy a new vehicle.

“I don’t know what to do, I can’t afford thousands of pounds for a new car when what I’ve got now is completely fine,” he says.

Frances Read
Reporting from outside the High Court

Image source, PA Media

I’m standing outside the court where a group of people are showing their anger at today’s judgement - one’s holding a coffin with “democracy” written on it.

The claimants’ representatives here who took the action have said the Ulez expansion is not fair and claim that as a result of the ruling people will be "taxed without representation".

Londoners will elect their next mayor in May next year - and Sadiq Khan is hoping to bag himself a third term. Up against him will be Susan Hall, the Conservative mayoral candidate.

She tells the BBC she's disappointed with the judge's ruling. "Londoners do not need the Ulez expansion," she says outside the High Court.

Instead, Hall says expanding lower emissions zones is not about safety but is "nothing but a cash grab".

Earlier in a tweet,, external Hall pledged to stop the Ulez expanding "from day one" if she is elected mayor next year.

It's worth remembering the first iteration of Ulez was devised by Boris Johnson, when he was the Conservative mayor of London.

Image source, Getty Images

There are low emission zones in a number of European countries, and they vary by vehicle type and emissions.

Italy has the most zones in Europe - some of them permanent, many seasonal - followed by Germany, according to the Urban Access Regulations website, external.

In 2016 Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo introduced a car-free day on the first Sunday of each month along the famous Champs-Elysees. The city has plans for a zero emission zone in 2030, external.

Yasmin Rufo
Reporting from Bromley

Norma and Aser Padoan have lived for 50 years in Bromley, which is on the southern edge of London and would be included in the Ulez expansion plans from 29 August.

They tell me that while they “feel sorry for people who have to upgrade their non-compliant cars”, it’s a decision that is ultimately “about our kids' health and the future generation”.

Norma says air quality doesn’t seem as bad in Bromley as inner London but she has become more aware of pollution since looking after her granddaughter.

“I don’t like taking my granddaughter to the park near the main road where there’s always traffic. It’s not good for children to be exposed to so much pollution.”

1. This isn't just for people who live in London - it's for anyone who drives into the capital. So from 29 August, anyone who enters the capital in a non-compliant vehicle (generally,, external petrol cars registered before 2005, and diesel cars registered before September 2015 - with different guidelines for vans, external) must pay £12.50
2. This is a big issue in national politics. Labour's London Mayor Sadiq Khan is introducing the scheme - but it was blamed, by some, for the party's failure to win the recent Uxbridge by-election. After that, Labour leader Keir Starmer seemed to go cool on the expansion - urging Khan to "reflect" on it, and how it's being implemented
3. Where London goes, others seem to follow. The capital was the first place in the UK to introduce a congestion charge in 2003. Cities across England now have "clean air zones",, external with various charges. London's Ulez charge is separate to the congestion charge - but now it is expanding, will other cities introduce, or extend, their own charges? Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner recently said, external "this isn't just about London - this is coming to towns and cities across the United Kingdom"

Yasmin Rufo
Reporting from Bromley

Let's get some reaction to the court's ruling from the streets of Bromley, where life-long residents Nigel and Pat tell me “it feels like we’re being robbed by the mayor of London".

They say friends and family in Bromley all share the same concerns about the expansion and they would support the councils appealing today's court decision.

They also say "we have clean air" in Bromley, but it's important to note that air quality data collected by London boroughs this year, external indicates that nowhere in London enjoys non-toxic air by World Health Organization standards.

How many cars don't meet Ulez standards?published at 10:52 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

10:52 BST 28 July 2023

Image source, Reuters

In short, it depends who you ask and which vehicles you are including.

The mayor of London was criticised, external by the statistics regulator for saying, external that nine out of 10 households in outer London that had a car already met the emissions standards - his office said he had mis-spoken.

What the figures actually showed was that nine out of 10 cars seen driving in outer London on a typical day were Ulez-compliant, which means about 78,000 cars were not compliant - but that's not the same thing.

The BBC has asked repeatedly to see the data behind the nine out of 10 claim, but has only been sent headline figures, external so far.

A separate freedom of information request by the BBC to Transport for London (TfL) showed that one in six cars registered in outer London did not meet Ulez standards last year.

These cars won’t necessarily be on the road every day, but it means roughly 280,000 vehicles in outer London would be liable for the charge if they were driven on London’s roads.

Looking at the whole of London, the RAC, external used a freedom of information request to establish that as of February, 691,559 licensed cars in the whole of London failed to meet standards. And if you include other vehicles such as vans and lorries the number increases to 851,065.

Image source, PA Media

We're getting a little more from Sadiq Khan now, who says the High Court's "unambiguous decision" allows him and his team to get on with "cleaning up London's air and tackling the climate crisis".

The mayor says air pollution is "an urgent public health crisis", as children are growing up with stunted lungs and pollution levels are being linked "to a host of serious conditions, from heart disease to cancer and dementia".

To mitigate the financial impact on people and businesses, Khan reiterates an announcement he made in June, saying that from next week he will be expanding the scrappage scheme to "nearly a million families who receive child benefit and all small businesses with up to 50 employees".

Find out if you're eligible for the scrappage scheme here, external.

We're just getting quotes from the judge explaining his reasoning for deciding the Ulez expansion plans are lawful.

Five Conservative-led councils argued the mayor was going behind his powers, but Mr Justice Swift explains in his ruling: "I'm satisfied the mayor's decision to expand the Ulez area by amending the present road-charging scheme rather than submitting an entirely new scheme was within his powers."

The judge also takes a pop at the consultation process, but ultimately sides with Sadiq Khan again: "While the consultation conducted was not in-depth, it was lawful."

Tim Donovan
Political editor, BBC London

The judge Mr Justice Swift gave a brief summary of why he has dismissed the five councils’ application for judicial review.

He said London Mayor Sadiq Khan acted within his powers when he amended the existing Ulez scheme - rather than create a new one.

He rejected the councils’ argument that the consultation had been insufficient or insufficiently clear.

The mayor was within his rights to come up with a scrappage scheme which excluded people from outside London, the judge said.

Image source, PA Media

Ulez will be expanded to cover nearly all of London next month - so has the current scheme made a difference?

The scheme aims to reduce levels of two damaging air pollutants from petrol and diesel vehicles - nitrogen dioxide (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

Within the existing Ulez area it is estimated that NOx emissions have fallen by 26% since 2019, with PM2.5 emissions falling by 19% over the same period.

Air quality has improved as a result. But all Londoners still live in areas exceeding the World Health Organization's guidelines for safe levels of both pollutants.

Meanwhile, the number of older polluting vehicles that have entered the current Ulez zone has fallen dramatically, with 97% now meeting the cleaner standards benchmark.

A little more reaction from Sadiq Khan now, who says the decision to expand Ulez was "very difficult" and not something he took lightly.

The mayor, who has just won a legal challenge paving the way to expand the scheme, says he will continue to do "everything possible to address any concerns Londoners may have".

"Nine out of 10 cars seen driving in outer London on an average day are already compliant so won't pay a penny," Khan adds.

For those whose cars aren't compliant, they'll pay £12.50 a day to drive in the capital.

We're now hearing from the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who says the "landmark decision is good news as it means we can proceed with cleaning up the air in outer London".

Khan says Ulez has already reduced toxic nitrogen dioxide air pollution by nearly half in central London and a fifth in inner London.

A judge has ruled that London Mayor Sadiq Khan can go ahead with his plan to extend the Ulez emission zone to the whole of London from 29 August.

Five Conservative-led councils lost their High Court challenge against the plan.

It means those driving the most polluting vehicles in London will have to pay £12.50 per day to drive in the capital from next month.

Check out which areas are affected below:

Image source, .

Katy Austin
Transport correspondent

Will the brakes have to be applied to the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone?

There’s only a month to go until Ulez is scheduled to cover all London boroughs.

Emerging as a key issue in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election has thrust it into the political spotlight.

The Mayor of London has defended his plan, calling the decision "difficult" but sticking by the argument that it’s necessary improve air quality.

But criticisms have included the financial impact at a time when the cost of living continues to soar, the speed of its introduction, and the scope of the scrappage scheme.

Not long until we get the judgment in a legal challenge brought by a group of local councils. It has focused on whether the mayor has gone beyond his powers, on the consultation process last year, and on the scrappage scheme.

Tim Donovan
Political editor, BBC London

Five Conservative-led councils say the mayor has gone beyond his powers and strayed outside what is lawful in his plans to expand Ulez.

To do such an impactful thing — so considerably different in scale from what we have now — warranted a whole new "charging scheme", requiring more onerous legal and consultative hurdles to be overcome, they said.

Rubbish, said the mayor's legal team. They argued he was perfectly entitled to make a "variation" to the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) which currently exists to regulate lorries coming into London — introduced by Ken Livingstone 16 years ago.

If it was so objectionable, why wasn't it challenged when Khan introduced the first two stages of Ulez?

We're expecting to hear the High Court judge's ruling shortly - stick with us.

Nick Johnson
Reporting from Biggin Hill

Biggin Hill is on the front line of Ulez expansion. Most of the town sits within the London Borough of Bromley, but many of the residential areas nudge into both Kent and Surrey.

Bromley and Surrey are two of the five councils awaiting the outcome of their judicial review at the High Court - due very shortly.

Kent County Council leader Roger Gough says he will also consider legal action, depending on today’s outcome.

If the extension gets the go-ahead, the new Ulez boundary would dissect the southern edge of the Biggin Hill, broadly in line with both the boundary of Greater London and the separate Low Emission Zone, in place since 2008 for larger polluting vehicles.

We were out here with our cameras on Thursday - usually when that happens, people ask us why we’re there. On this occasion, most people knew without waiting for our answer.

What could this mean for London's mayor?published at 09:47 British Summer Time 28 July 2023

09:47 BST 28 July 2023

Tim Donovan
Political editor, BBC London

Image source, PA Media

Today is a significant day for London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan.

He’s been in political trouble over his Ulez plans after the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election - Boris Johnson's old seat which Labour failed to take last week.

He’s struggling in the court of public opinion. Now we find out whether he’s in legal trouble too.

If the five councils hear shortly that they have been in any way successful in their challenge, a delay beyond the planned 29 August start date for the Ulez expansion seems inevitable.

If the mayor wins, then the presumption is full-speed ahead, but potentially with extra financial help following the Labour leader Keir Starmer’s call on Khan to "reflect" on the policy.