Allegations that Sadiq Khan suppressed information and made false and dishonest statements to the London Assembly to push forward his London Tax are serious and extremely concerning. This must now be fully investigated before any implementation of the ULEZ expansion.
Many of you will be aware of my strong opposition to the planned expansion of the Ultra- Low Emissions Zone to the entirety of Greater London from August 2023. Over the past few months, I have continued this campaign, from launching a petition last summer and supporting GLA members in their efforts to stop the expansion plans, to speaking against expansion of the ULEZ in the Westminster Hall debate in December.
Despite opposition from Londoners and residents from surrounding areas such as ours, who will be affected, Sadiq Khan announced he would press on with the planned expansion, which is due to come in to force in August this year.
I was therefore deeply concerned to learn of allegations that Mr Khan and senior colleagues within his Mayoral office took steps to manipulate the results of their public consultation on the expansion of the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone, and allegations that he made false statements to the London Assembly regarding this.
It is claimed that Mr Khan obtained data which showed that the expansion of ULEZ was opposed by two-thirds of those who took part in the consultation, and that following this a decision was made to selectively exclude thousands of email responses to the consultation from groups opposed to ULEZ expansion, in order to skew the overall approval rate upwards, and render the Mayor’s decision to pursue the scheme less vulnerable to legal challenge.
I have been contacted many constituents and people outside the constituency who are opposed to ULEZ expansion. They have all raised concerns about the impact that it would have on their lives and livelihoods. Businesses concerned about the additional costs, when they already face significant pressures. Commuters facing a huge tax for simply trying to get to work. Residents wondering if they can afford to travel to see loved ones in care homes within the expanded zone.
And this was always going to affect those on low incomes most, those who cannot afford more modern, ULEZ-compliant, vehicles. It was appalling that Sadiq Khan planned to introduce this tax in light of the cost pressures residents already face. But to learn that this may have been done through deceit and manipulation is an outrage.
As I highlighted in my recent speech in parliament, if Sadiq Khan really wanted to improve air quality, rather than introduce an unproven tax, he should be looking to push forward even faster car scrappage. Or invest more in the conversion of TfL’s bus fleet to electricity and hydrogen vehicles. He is not even listening to industry who have highlighted the importance of the Zero Vehicle Emissions Mandate, and how expanding this would drive even greater improvements in air quality.
And now we find he may not be listening to the public either.
I wholeheartedly support the steps taken by my Conservative colleagues in the GLA who have submitted a formal complaint about Sadiq Khan’s alleged misconduct to the Greater London Authority Monitoring Officer. The Mayor is expected to face an investigation into this matter.
I will of course work to support any formal challenge to the adoption of the ULEZ expansion policy arising from this investigation.
