The fight to stop ULEZ is not over-Keith Prince AM.

Havering and Redbridge GLA representative and Leader of Havering Conservatives Councillor Keith Prince today writes in the Havering Daily on the ULEZ expansion and the outer London borough’s battle to stop it.

Last week’s High Court ruling allowing Sadiq Khan to continue with his plan to expand ULEZ was more than just disappointing. For the families across London who simply cannot afford to pay the charge, it will have been very distressing. The decision will be distressing too for the many businesses which will go bust, because Sadiq Khan’s woefully inadequate ‘scrappage scheme’ has failed to provide the safety net they needed. The decision will also be disappointing for those who won’t pay the ULEZ charge directly, but who will see higher prices whenever they call out a plumber or a builder.

It is no wonder that an overwhelming majority of Londoners opposed Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ in the official consultation, despite the Mayor straining every sinew to improperly exclude the responses which he did not like.

The High Court’s judgment will also be disappointing for those who want real action – not words – on air quality in our city. Whilst Sadiq Khan claims that his ULEZ expansion will save thousands if not millions of lives, his own statistics show that the measure will make almost no difference to air quality. It would be far better to use the money that Sadiq Khan chose to spend on cameras, on new electric buses for our city, or targeting specific pollution hotspots.

But the fight is not yet over. We will continue to pressure the Mayor and demonstrate that Londoners do not want his damaging ULEZ. I and colleagues at City Hall will continue to show how the Mayor’s policy is damaging families and businesses in London. We will also keep pressing for a scrappage scheme that is fit-for-purpose, and for meaningful action to clean up London’s air – like accelerating the move to electric buses. Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion might have overcome this obstacle, but my colleagues and I will keep doing everything we can to stop this tax.

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