ULEZ: Stump up cash for Londoners, Keir Starmer urges government

Keir Starmer is urging government to provide more money to Londoners forced to scrap cars to comply with the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion.

Under Labour mayor Sadiq Khan's plans the clean air zone is set to become three times bigger on 29 August.

Speaking to LBC, Sir Keir said the expansion, which will require some drivers to get new vehicles in order to avoid fees, would cause pain.

But the Labour leader claimed Mr Khan had no alternative but to implement it.

The ULEZ expansion has become a tricky subject for Sir Keir, with Labour hoping to win a by-election later this month in Boris Johnson's former seat in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, one of the areas that will be impacted.

Some Labour MPs have called for the expansion to be paused and Labour's local candidate in Uxbridge, Danny Beales, has also said the scheme should be delayed.

Sir Keir told LBC he sympathised with those that would be affected but said Mr Khan would face legal action if he did not take measures to improve air quality in London.

In an interview with the BBC's Chris Mason on Thursday, the Labour leader had refused to take a side in the debate, saying that differing views needed to be "accommodated".

A report published earlier this year found air pollution could lead to miscarriages and stunt children's lung growth, as well as causing chronic illnesses such as cancer.

Responding to the Labour leader's call for more money, the transport department said it had provided Transport for London with £6bn for public transport and £2bn towards "vehicle grants and infrastructure to support the rollout of clean vehicles across the country".

The government spokesperson also said London had received almost £102m for projects to tackle pollution.

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Steve Tuckwell, the Conservative candidate in the Uxbridge by-election, opposes the expansion, which he says will put an additional financial burden on local residents.

The Liberal Democrat candidate Blaise Baquiche said he supported efforts to "clean up London's air but not on the backs of the most vulnerable". He said London needed a "proper car scrappage scheme" and more investment in public transport.

The Green Party, whose candidate in Uxbridge is Sarah Green, supports the ULEZ expansion. A full list of Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election candidates can be found here.

In his latest weekly column for the Daily Mail, Mr Johnson fired a broadside at the ULEZ expansion, calling it the "Labour mayor's driving tax" and condemning the scheme's "sheer bone-headed cruelty".

If not even the Labour leader would wholeheartedly back it, the former prime minister said, then it was "doomed".

Pressed on the issue during a radio phone-in, Sir Keir said Mr Beales was right to stick up for his area, but insisted the ULEZ expansion had to go ahead.

He admitted it would cost motorists "lot of money" but said the government should add to the £110m provided by the mayor to help people replace their vehicles, as they had done in other areas with clean air zones.

"The government has given money to Portsmouth, Bristol and Birmingham to help - they haven't given a penny to London.

"I would use this opportunity to call on the government to make more money available in London."

The ULEZ was introduced in central London in 2019, developing a previous low emission zone (LEZ) for larger vehicles like buses, lorries and coaches that was first introduced in 2008.

In 2021, it was extended to the North and South Circular roads, and from 29 August it will be further expanded to include the whole of Greater London.

If it goes ahead, the expansion will see drivers in outer London pay a £12.50 daily fee if their vehicles do not meet required emissions standards.

The mayor's office have established a £110m scrappage scheme to help eligible people and businesses replace or retrofit their vehicles in order to comply with the standards.

At the beginning of the year, Mr Khan wrote to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asking him to "help double the size" of the scrappage scheme.

The ULEZ expansion is currently facing a legal challenge, brought by five Conservative-led councils who argue Mr Khan does not have the legal powers to implement it.