Sadiq Khan could be voted out as mayor of London amid backlash over his controversial plans to expand the capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez), Labour insiders have warned.
Party sources believe that Mr Khan, who was expected to win the Labour stronghold capital next May, could get ‘squeezed’ out by voters angered by the Ulez fee.
The mayor’s popularity has declined amid the planned expansion which would see drivers in all of Greater London pay a £12.50 daily fee if their vehicles do not meet the required emissions standards.
A Labour source told The Sun on Sunday that ‘people are furious with Sadiq’ and given his unfavorability he may do the ‘unthinkable and lose Labour’s backyard of London’.
Insiders have suggested the Ulez row could see voters turn their support to the Tories or ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is understood to be considering a bid for mayor.
Sadiq Khan (pictured Friday) could be voted out as mayor of London amid backlash over his controversial plans to expand the capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone, Labour insiders warned
Party sources believe that Mr Khan could get ‘squeezed’ out by voters angered by the Ulez fee. Demonstrators are pictured in central London on Friday protesting the Ulez expansion
The Labour insider told the newspaper that Mr Khan won London because he ‘concentrated on hoovering up votes on the edge of the city’.
The source warned the party could see a ‘repeat of the Boris Johnson doughnut strategy’, which treated inner and outer London as two distinct targets.
The insider added: ‘You could see the Tories trying that again and making the race for City Hall a referendum on Ulez’.
The Ulez currently has borders of the North and South Circular – but it is set to encompass the outer London boroughs from August 29. The new borders will reach Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey.
The extended Ulez will see drivers in all of Greater London pay a £12.50 daily fee is their vehicles do not comply with minimum emissions standards.
Lorries, buses, coaches and heavy vans that are non-compliant are charged £100 under the separate low emission zone (Lez) scheme, which already covers most of London.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is at odds with Mr Khan over the plan, which has caused somewhat of a civil war within the party.
Sir Keir fears the Ulez expansion will cause the party to ‘haemorrhage votes’. Meanwhile, MPs are accusing Mr Khan of ‘waging a war on motorists’.
Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, said the expansion is a ‘huge burden’ on workers and argued that Mr Khan ‘knows those people can’t afford it’.
Mr Mahmood told The Sun: ‘It’s just dogmatic politics from him. He doesn’t want to be seen changing his view.’
The Ulez currently has borders of the North and South Circular – but it is set to encompass the outer London boroughs from August 29. The new borders will reach Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is at odds with Mr Khan over the plan, which has caused somewhat of a civil war within the party. Sir Keir fears the Ulez expansion will cause the party to ‘haemorrhage votes’. Sir Keir and Mr Khan are pictured together in April last year
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has slammed the Labour party as ‘quite anti-motorist’ amid anger over ULEZ expansion in London. Mr Sunak is pictured on Saturday as he sits in an old Special Branch police vehicle which was used to transport former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during a visit to Lark in the Park in Dartford
Fears that Mr Khan could be ousted as mayor come as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak slammed the Labour party as ‘quite anti-motorist’ amid anger over ULEZ expansion in London.
‘I’ve become slightly more alarmed by the Labour Party’s position. It’s quite anti-motorist,’ Mr Sunak, a conservative, said in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph.
He doubled-down on attacks on Sir Keir amid the row over the Ulez scheme. The Labour leader and other senior party have called on Mr Khan to reflect on the policy following the Uxbridge defeat.
The capital’s mayor has promised to listen to Londoners, while also stressing the urgent need to clean up the city’s air.
In the same interview, Mr Sunak also declared he is on the side of drivers and announced a review of the roll out of low-traffic neighbourhoods across the country.
The Prime Minister announced that he has ordered the Department for Transport to review LTN policies, which have proven unpopular among drivers and controversial in some communities.
He said: ‘The vast majority of people in the country use their cars to get around and are dependent on their cars. When I’m lucky enough to get home to North Yorkshire it’s more representative of how most of the country is living, where cars are important.
‘I just want to make sure people know that I’m on their side in supporting them to use their cars to do all the things that matter to them.’
The £12.50 daily Ulez fee applies to older petrol and diesel vehicles made before 2015, and will hit hundreds of thousands of hard-pressed motorists who cannot afford to buy a newer, cleaner vehicle. Anti-Ulez protesters are pictured in central London on Friday
Anti-ULEZ protestors demonstrate outside The Royal Courts of Justice on Friday ahead of the ruling on the expansion of London’s clean air zone (pictured)
He also knocked back calls to change one major green policy, the 2030 deadline for a ban on new petrol and diesel car sales, saying: ‘The 2030 target has been our policy for a long time and continues to be. We are not considering a delay to that date.’
The spread of LTNs in recent months has proven controversial in certain localities and has emerged as a concern among some on the right of the Conservative Party.
LTNs are used by local councils attempt limit traffic in town and city centres – with drivers often prevented from using quiet residential roads as through-routes. The measures are also designed to encourage uptake of other modes of transport.
Downing Street said this week that councils must ensure traffic restrictions ‘work for local people’ before imposing them.
