‘I have never been an advocate of the ULEZ expansion’.

Labour Councillor Andrew Achilleos today writes in the Havering Daily on the Ultra Low Emission Zone and his objections to it.

Many people associate me with environmental politics because I served as Barking and Dagenham Council’s Member Champion for Climate Change 2020-2022. However, given my ambition to represent Romford in Parliament I am under no illusion there are people who will use this to link me with ULEZ and claim I am anti-motorist. Let me be crystal clear that, as I have stated face-to-face with anyone who has spoken to me, I have never been an advocate of the ULEZ expansion. 

Primarily, as a working-class man whose family relied on their vans to feed us, I felt the policy wasn’t pitched right to protect people’s livelihoods – especially in a cost-of-living crisis. We know that areas like Havering and Barking and Dagenham are home to many of London’s tradesmen and women, and low paid workers who have no choice but to travel across zones 1-6 each day.

A more effective way of improving air quality would have been to invest heavily in public transport for outer-London, put Havering in Zone 4/5 to bring down fares, and have a more gradual tax-free shift to electric and/or less polluting vehicles.

This being said, I have always had concerns about electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, as outlined here:https://fabians.org.uk/going-further-2/

Just because I am passionate about nature, improving and protecting our green spaces, and ensuring that developments are built sustainably, it doesn’t mean I spend my time hugging trees. Like many I spend my time worrying about how I am going to support my family faced with the economic chaos caused by thirteen years of Tory rule.

It is wrong to paint every Labour politician at national, regional, and local level with the same brush – there are lots of personalities and politics within the Labour Party, much as there are in the Tories.

Climate Change policy doesn’t have to be an attack on communities. I’m proud of my achievements in Barking and Dagenham which saw me spearhead our work to insulatehomes on the Becontree Estate, saving residents money on their bills. I worked on a groundbreaking project to plant 40,000 trees dedicated to keyworkers and lost loved ones following the pandemic, creating the largest woodland of itskind in the UK. I also personally designed a scheme of work to engage and educate families in our country parks which has become a successful, and well attended, annual series of events led by our amazing Park Rangers.

The environment and nature will always be important to me, but not at the expense of working people. People and nature can thrive cohesively. I know where I came from and as a Labour voice for Romford in Parliament, I would be categorical and unwavering on this point.

Andrew Achilleos.

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