Uxbridge by-election: Khan defends Ulez after Starmer blames it for poll setback

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has defended expanding a tax on polluting vehicles, despite his party leader blaming it for a disappointing by-election result.

Sir Keir told the BBC the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) had cost Labour victory in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

He called on Mr Khan to "reflect" on his plan to expand it to outer London.

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

Conservative candidate Steve Tuckwell held the outer London constituency for his party by 495 votes, after campaigning against Ulez.

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Labour overturned a much bigger Conservative majority than the one the party had in Uxbridge in another by-election held on the same day in North Yorkshire.

Sir Keir Starmer said Uxbridge and South Ruislip was always "going to be tough - we didn't take it in 1997 when we had a landslide victory".

He said Ulez was "the reason we didn't win there yesterday", saying "we've all got to reflect on that, including the mayor".

He declined to say whether he believed the Ulez expansion should be paused or scrapped, despite being repeatedly pressed by BBC Political Editor Chris Mason to say what he meant by "reflect".

Sadiq Khan said he was disappointed Labour had not taken a constituency previously held by former prime minister Boris Johnson, but noted it had "never been Labour in my lifetime".

He said clean air was "a human right, not a privilege", adding "Londoners are struggling through this cost-of-living crisis, but Londoners are also suffering the consequences of air pollution".

He acknowledged that some people were worried about the costs of Ulez, but took a swipe at the government, saying it was "a shame" ministers had not offered "a penny of support" towards a scrappage scheme for polluting - generally older - vehicles.

Mr Khan has argued that making the clean-air zone three times larger from 29 August will improve London's air quality, but it has proved hugely contentious in outer London areas like Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

During the campaign, Labour's candidate Danny Beales said he wanted the expansion halted because of the cost-of-living crisis.

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

"This wasn't the campaign Labour expected and Keir Starmer and his mayor Sadiq Khan need to sit up and listen to the Uxbridge and South Ruislip residents," he

He later met Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a cafe in Uxbridge, where Mr Sunak said that "when confronted with the actual reality of the Labour Party, when there's an actual choice on a matter of substance at stake, people vote Conservative".

Earlier, Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said the Uxbridge result was related to Ulez and showed that "when you don't listen to voters, you don't win elections".

"There is a concern that we have to make sure that whatever is implemented is not at the cost of working families," she told BBC Breakfast.

Ms Rayner added that cities needed clean air, but people who had to replace polluting vehicles also needed "proper compensation and support from the government".

Asked whether she would be urging Mr Khan to drop the policy, she said the party would be "getting round the table" and would continue to work with the London mayor "to get a decent scrappage scheme".

An ultra low emission zone was initially proposed by then-Conservative mayor Boris Johnson in 2013 and introduced in central London in 2019, expanding a previous low-emission zone for larger vehicles like buses, lorries and coaches that was itself introduced in 2008.

Under Mr Khan, it was extended to cover the area within the North and South Circular roads in 2021.

The new expansion will see the zone's outer borders reach Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey.

Drivers must pay £12.50 per day if they drive a vehicle which doesn't meet modern emission standards: generally, diesel vehicles that are more than seven years old, or petrol vehicles that are more than 17 years old. If they do not pay, drivers face a maximum £180 fine.

The by-election took place in Uxbridge and South Ruislip after Boris Johnson decided to step down as an MP last month.

Despite its disappointment in failing to take the outer London constituency, Labour made history by overturning its biggest majority at a by-election since 1945 in Selby and Ainsty.

The Liberal Democrats won the Somerton and Frome by-election by more than 11,000 votes.