Image source, Reuters

Campaign battle lines are being drawn ahead of the next general election - and, of late, Ulez has proved to be one of the biggest.

The latest to take aim is Prime Minster Rishi Sunak, who says Ulez is being expanded while "people and families are struggling with the cost of living".

"And at that time, the Labour Party, the Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan and Keir Starmer are introducing the Ulez charge which is going to hit working families," he tells journalists.

"I don't think that's the right priority, I don't think that's the right thing to do and I wish they hadn't done it."

Sunak says he pins responsibility for the expansion on Khan, although it's worth noting the original Ulez was announced in 2015 when Sunak's predecessor Boris Johnson was mayor of London.

The Ulez expansion now stretches all the way to Heathrow Airport - which is still feeling the effects of yesterday's air traffic control problems as thousands still face delays.

Those heading to Heathrow in an older car will be charged £12.50 to reach the airport, even if you don't live in London.

That's on top of the £5 drop-off fee, plus a parking charges set by Heathrow.

Failure to pay the Ulez charge within three days can lead to a £180 fine, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.

And those who work overnight at Heathrow and have non-compliant cars could have to pay twice as the Ulez runs from midnight to midnight.

• Follow the latest on flight disruption with our colleagues here

Image source, PA Media

It is widely accepted among Labour and Tory representatives that Ulez was a defining feature of the Uxbridge by-election last month.

Conservative Steve Tuckwell won the seat, formerly belonging to ex-PM Boris Johnson, after campaigning against the expansion of scheme to include areas like Uxbridge.

In his victory speech, Tuckwell said the "damaging and costly Ulez policy" had lost Labour the seat.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said there was "no doubt" the result was due to London Mayor Sadiq Khan's plans to expand the Ulez.

"We've all got to reflect on that, including the mayor," Starmer said.

But Khan said the measure was "the right one", though he added he would listen to Londoners' concerns.

• We spoke to some Uxbridge voters about Ulez ahead of the by-election. You can read about their thoughts here, external.

Mark Poynting
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) typically targets older vehicles, because they are the most polluting.

This is because there is very strong evidence, external that air pollution damages human health.

Air pollutants - for example nitrogen dioxide - can cause and worsen respiratory problems like asthma, and can affect those with heart conditions, according to multiple scientific studies.

Across Greater London, the equivalent of between 3,600 and 4,100 deaths could be attributed to air pollution in 2019, according to Imperial College London research, external commissioned by Transport for London and the Greater London Authority.

This figure isn’t the number of people whose deaths have been directly caused by air pollution. Instead, it’s a statistical estimate of how many extra deaths there have been across the whole population because of the effect of pollution on people’s health.

Across the whole of the UK, long-term exposure to air pollution had an effect equivalent to between 29,000 and 43,000 deaths, external in 2019, according to research by the government-funded UK Health Security Agency and Imperial College London. This makes air pollution the largest environmental risk to public health, external in the UK.

You'll have to be patient if you want to check whether your car is Ulez compliant this morning - there's a queue to access the official website.

We'll keep an eye on things as a Taylor Swift-style stampede for information hits tfl.gov.uk.

• To check if your car is compliant (and join the queue) head here, external.

For those living in London boroughs, there is a £160m scrappage scheme available, set up by Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Those eligible can receive up to £2,000 for scrapping a car, up to £7,000 for scrapping a van, and up to £1,000 for scrapping a motorcycle.

Your car needs to have been registered to you since 30 January 2022 or earlier, and money received from from the scheme can be used for anything.

To find out more about the scrappage scheme, you can visit the TfL website, external.

1. This isn't just for people who live in London - it's for anyone who drives into the capital. 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 now 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", with various charges. London's Ulez charge is separate to the congestion charge - but now it has expanded, 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”

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah CBE, whose daughter Ella died in 2013, says if Ulez had been brought in earlier, she might have lived.

At Ella's inquest in 2020, Southwark Coroner's Court found that air pollution "made a material contribution" to her death.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Adoo-Kissi-Debrah says: "I urge everybody to think about the quarter of a million children in London between the ages of five and 19 who have an asthma diagnosis.

"We can't live in a society whereby the youngest of us continue to die. It is unacceptable."

The clean air campaigner adds she has been lobbying City Hall to extend the scrappage scheme, especially to disabled Blue Badge holders, but argues: "The poorest don't even have a vehicle. They will be the ones standing at the bus stops this morning, inhaling the toxic fumes."

The expansion of Ulez taking effect from today encompasses Greater London, so if you live in a London borough, you live in a Ulez zone.

Image source, .

Things can get a little tricky around the border, however, so check the Transport for London map, external.

You can pop your postcode in and it will tell you if you’re covered by the scheme.

Drivers face wait to check if they must pay £12.50 chargepublished at 09:22 British Summer Time 29 August 2023

09:22 BST 29 August 2023

Tom Edwards
Transport correspondent, BBC London

All along, one of the criticisms of the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone is that it is has been rushed.Drivers were only given nine months to switch non-compliant cars or face the charge. That’s much less than other schemes in London.

As the scheme came into force this morning, for about two hours the Transport for London (TfL) vehicle checker was showing a few minutes' wait for people to access the page.

It’s not a disaster - TfL says the waiting room was brought in to create extra capacity - but it’s not exactly a great look either.

It also shows that even after all the publicity on Ulez, many people left it until today to check if their vehicles were compliant.

At the moment, there's a two-minute wait for vehicle checker - which you can use here, external.

Sadiq Khan has accepted that the looming expansion of Ulez contributed to Labour losing the Uxbridge by-election back in July.

A few moments ago he was asked whether he's thought about it costing Labour the general election - see what he told the Radio 4's Today programme in the 45-second clip below:

Image source, PA Media

Let's briefly recap the political fallout from Ulez which, unlike the new daily charge, has travelled far beyond London.

The tensions around the expansion escalated after July’s Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, which saw the Conservatives narrowly cling on to the seat.

New MP Steve Tuckwell said the by-election was proof of people’s resistance to Ulez expansion.

In a move which put the Labour leadership at odds with their London mayor, Sir Keir Starmer took a similar stance, blaming the party's loss on the policy as he urged Sadiq Khan to “reflect”.

But the mayor said the expansion was "right" - and stuck by the plans.

Sadiq Khan was also asked on the Today programme about the political implications of the Ulez expansion.

It was seen as a key factor in the Conservative victory in the Uxbridge and Ruilslip by election in July, and led to the Labour leadership going, well, lukewarm on the mayor's flagship policy.

Although Khan acknowledged the scheme played a role in the by-election, he said that was the result of “a lot of misinformation”.

He says he understands the concerns – including those raised by his Labour colleagues – but insists Londoners are supportive of the zone expanding.

A few moments ago we heard from Irene Bacon, a domestic care worker who drives to see her clients five days a week and will have to pay £62.50 a week under the scheme because her Vauxhall Mokka, which is eight years old, is not compliant.

She's currently relying on her bosses to loan her a company car to get around.

She tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme the mayor "hasn't given people time" to adapt, and the thought of what she will do is "so distressing and upsetting".

"I just cannot afford to buy a new car," she says. "I can't buy a car for £2,000. Not a reliable one.

"I'd have to look for another job."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been doing the media rounds this morning, and has just been speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Challenged about the level of support given by the scrappage scheme – which enables all Londoners replacing non-compliant cars to claim up to £2,000, but only includes those living in London boroughs – Khan says he only has “finite resources”.

“Because the government’s not giving us any financial support we’re having to rely upon money from City Hall in relation to the scrappage system, so I simply can’t give support to those outside of London,” he says.

He says he has tried to lobby the government to provide financial support to those just outside London.

There's more on exactly how the scrappage scheme works in our previous post

London's Mayor Sadiq Khan has already faced questions this morning about the level of support available for drivers of the most polluting cars.

He's pointed to the scrappage scheme, which aims to help people switch to cleaner cars - here's what we know about it:

What is it? It's a scheme that allows all Londoners replacing non-compliant cars to claim up to £2,000.

Who can apply? Anyone living in a London borough.

How do I know if my vehicle is compliant? Broadly, non-compliant vehicles include petrol cars registered before 2005, and diesel cars registered before September 2015. A full list can be in this article or you can use TFL’s vehicle checker here, external.

How much can I claim? Londoners with a non-compliant car can claim up to £2,000, and up to £7,000 for vans. There are separate sums on offer for small businesses, charities, disabled Londoners with wheelchair-adapted vehicles, and retrofitting.

For a more detailed look at the terms of the scheme, have a look through our handy explainer here.

And for those wanting even more about the scrappage scheme, visit the TfL website, external.

Sadiq Khan tells BBC Breakfast that in inner London – which was covered by the Ulez scheme before today – 97% of vehicles “seen driving on an average day” are already compliant and therefore won't be charged.

In outer London, where the scheme has been expanded to, that figure is 90%, Khan says.

He also urges people to check if they can use the scrappage scheme.

In 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

As we've already seen this morning, there are some pretty strong opinions about the expansion of Ulez.

While some support the health and environmental benefits brought with cleaner air, others including residents, businesses and politicians say the financial impact during a cost-of-living squeeze outweighs the benefits of the scheme.

Some Londoners say a scrappage scheme won't help them enough, and the cost of second-hand Ulez-compliant cars has also risen.

There have also been public protests against Ulez and five Conservative-run councils launched legal action over today's London-wide expansion. Even Labour leader Keir Starmer urged caution after the policy was blamed for the party narrowly losing a by-election in Uxbridge.

But with the legal challenge dismissed by the High Court, London’s mayor Sadiq Khan was given the green light to proceed with the expansion today.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan responds to Transport Secretary Mark Harper's comments, saying he made “a couple of factual errors” in his comments on BBC Breakfast moments beforehand.

Khan says if the scheme was simply about raising money – as some critics have claimed – he would have expanded the zone “without proper consultation and a proper scrappage scheme”.

He says the government has supported clean air zones in other parts of the UK, including Bristol, Birmingham and Bath.

“This is about making our air cleaner,” he says, accusing the government of seeking to make “party political gains out of a public health policy”.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan says the decision to expand Ulez across all of London was "difficult" but "vital".

He tells BBC Breakfast five million more Londoners will be breathing cleaner air this morning as a result of the move.

Khan acknowledges the difficulties people are facing due to the cost-of-living crisis, but says everyone in London with a non-compliant vehicle has access to support via the scrappage scheme.