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© Thomson Reuters 2023.London's contentious clean air zone extends to entire city
By Sachin Ravikumar LONDON©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
48 Comments
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Chabbawanga
Its a good idea, if you invest in better public transport first. Its like the whole fossil fuel issue. Sure itd be nice to stop relying on them, but you cant just stop using them over night, you need a transition period. I hope not too many people are affected by these new policies.
Paul
Rich people making expensive decisions for the poor to pay. Ordinary people drive older cars not out of choice, they don't have the money to buy new cars!
falseflagsteve
Paul
Exactly, those worst affected are the poor and the elderly and disabled who rely on a car for mobility. It’s an utter disgrace and I truly believe that Khan is a wicked and demonic man who wishes to destroy everything good about London including it’s cultural history.
GBR48
Sunak is so wealthy that being PM is a side hustle for him. But if he did care about the next election, the ULEZ is his first (perhaps only) piece of good news. Similar zones are popping up elsewhere, so if you are not careful, a long journey could see you getting several bills in the post. Local councils implementing them are unlikely to survive their next election as the fees (£5 per day for all cars in Cambridge's planned STZ) will add up. It's hammering the elderly, small traders, folk visiting sick family members, kids being taken to school and the disabled. All at a time when public transport is being reduced across the UK and Brexit has made everyone more than 25% poorer by taking down Sterling. When something bad happens to a child walking to school, because the car journey would require a daily ULEZ payment, it will be all over the tabloids. This is an electoral poison pill. Combined with recent activist idiocy, it will create opposition to any transition.
Incentivising people always works better than taking money out of their pockets. There were better options to reduce emissions. They are making similar mistakes suggesting that £10k+ heat pumps are a viable alternative to gas boilers. They aren't. Electric radiators, immersion heaters and water boilers are cheaper, tried and tested solutions, combined with solar and turbines. Banning them because they spoil the view is ridiculous - We can no longer afford the luxury of a turbine-free view.
And no, your old banger and two grand won't bag you a used Tesla.
finally rich
Exactly, I just changed cars last week but couldnt afford a PHEV to pay in cash (I hate loans) so I had to stick to the typical gasoline car... wished I had an electric as they are mostly noiseless and DIY maintenance is cut by 1/10, still its out of my budget unless I get a tiny Nissan Leaf. Now the pakistani wants to demand more $$$ for Londoners living in the outskirts without any public transportation. These people dont care about us, especially sadiq khan
kohakuebisu
Clean air is good.
Regular diesels should not be allowed in cities. This is a successful policy worldwide, Japan included. Only businesses need vans, in which case most of the vehicle cost will be written off against tax as a business expense. That leaves twenty year old cars, of which you will see very few in the UK. This whole ULEZ issue is being hyped by the Daily Mail crowd as part of the their nanny state/political correctness crusade, basically a distraction from how utterly corrupt and inept the current government is.
falseflagsteve
Kohak
Have you seen what this monster has done to London? Nothing to do with the Daily Fail. He hates traditional British culture and he needs to be removed. Hopefully he will be prosecuted for what he’s done to the people of London.
Jimizo
Steve, this is hysterical.
You can argue against his views, and this one is very contentious, but this is delirious.
Which of the last candidates for London mayor did you think was better?
falseflagsteve
Jimizo
Didnt let any of them, I despise the vast majority of politicians who just think of themselves. Mr Khan hates white people, poor people and he’s a trans rights activist who wastes money on that lark while elderly can’t afford to eat. A puffed up little Hitler, belongs in the Scrubs.
Jimizo
Did you know any of them?
This is more rightwing North American podcast delirium. No good for discussions.
wallace
ffs
Don't you know the "Scrubs" does not exist?
falseflagsteve
wallace
Eh? It’s near Hammersmith.
Jimizo
Or the thousandths time, I am not from America, I’m from Croydon. That’s why I’m concerned about what’s happening in the city I came from, you see.
Jimizo
Which ones don’t you despise?
And replaced by whom?
GoUrawaReds!!
London should worry more about crime than clean air. Everyone is leaving London.
Jimizo
Never said you were.
I was saying the hysterics about trans rights is parroted by watchers of rightwing North American podcasts. You don’t have to be American to watch them.
I know some Brits, and particularly Canadians, who are big fans.
Anyway, which politicians do you like and who is well placed to replace Khan?
Jimizo
No, they are not.
falseflagsteve
Jimizo
I don’t like any of those bounders. The ones that really care are portrayed as nutters and not sleep to get near to being Prime Minister. I used to believe some Labour politicians had integrity, well a few did like Clare Short and Glenda Jackson.
Labour are as bad as the Tories now for integrity, don’t trust any of them to care about people, especially the elderly. Blair and Mandleson destroyed the integrity of Labour.
Jimizo
So, you want the ‘demonic’ Khan removed but have no alternative to give?
Not very constructive, is it?
falseflagsteve
Jimizo
Nobody can be worse than that egotistical maniac. He’s destroyed so much and needs to be stopped.
wallace
ffs
You are right. I thought Scrubs had been closed down.
wallace
Many of my family still live in London.
Jimizo
Yes, they can.
Steve, I’d really recommend at the very least looking into the candidates for London mayor here.
Hating Khan is quite common among people with zero knowledge. Even the rightwing North American podcast watchers don’t like him because of his spat with Trump.
You don’t want to sound like that.
Jimizo
I have many family members and friends there too.
Fantastic city. One of the best in the world.
itsonlyrocknroll
The opportunity will come at the next London mayoral Thu, May 2, 2024, before in a wave of political red mist lets view all the candidates manifesto.
To implement ULEZ expansion at present is a mistake in the middle of a income squeeze, cost of living crisis.
Also the London congestion charge feels more a revenue tax raising tool than truly a method of creating a clean air environment.
I still have my flat apartment in central London, purchased from my parents, their first property, an LDA (low demand accommodation) in Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1.
They brought when first married 70's, I purchased for £32,000 because the property required huge structural renovation. Roof, common areas windows you name it from my first bonus. Mum and Dad could not afford.
I rent it out to friends I trust. But the cost to them is eyewatering,
You see it is the wealthy that can afford Mayor Sadiq Khan ideological extravagances.
The lower end of the trough, this regressive tax will sting with financial hardship, pain,
Mr Kipling
Charges ordinary people an extra tax to drive their car but dies nothing to fight the knife crime, grooming gangs and economic refugees flooding into the country.
Bring back Ken Livingston. At least he had an interest in helping ordinary Londoners.
dagon
It is sad that this issue is hijacked by the climate-change denying, anti-science rightist set as it is a very leftist issue.
Most carbon emission restrictions/taxes are very regressive and let the Davos set burn away while the working class is left to grapple with the capitalist externalities.
WeiWei
Idiots fighting for climate change by punishing the poorest. News flash, the population of the earth is expanding so fast that nothing they do in London will affect anything in the global scale.
Prevents deaths? Like lockdowns and masks? News flash, nobody lives forever.
Paustovsky
Bypassing your hyperbole, can you give an example of how he is destroying London's cultural history ? Did he paint Nelson's Column pink or something ?
Paustovsky
I liked Red Ken too but what would he have done about your Daily Mail scare stories ?
falseflagsteve
Itsonlyrockandroll
Strewth, Shaftesbury Avenue eh, must be worth enough now.
it’s definitely hurting the poorest and especially many elderly and disabled who cannot get to local shops or doctors without using their car. Why doesn’t Khan spend his time tacking the stabbing sand shootings that plague many prat of London. Oh yeah, no profits in backhanders from his mates and he has zero empathy for the working man. Plenty of money to setup CCTV on the roads though and bring in his evil stealth tax.
He even recently stated that white families don’t represent Londoners.
Hopefully he is gone soon and someone comes in who has some decency and morals.
‘For those silly people who say why don’t I run for mayor? Well, I live in Japan now, yet still have concerns for my home city. I find those remarks ignorant, immature and regressive.
Jimizo
I’m not sure what the London mayor can do about economic refugees entering the UK.
Any ideas?
I don’t think even the Daily Mail was blaming him for that.
wallace
Air pollution is one of the major problems in the world.
" Air pollution is attributed to 11.65 % of deaths globally. It is also one of the leading risk factors for disease burden."
Ban all private cars from the city center. Reduce the cost of public transport.
Hervé L'Eisa
I read recently that this authoritarian ULEZ claptrap has actually led to an increase in the sales of classic vehicles which are exempt.
Hervé L'Eisa
"Two categories of historic vehicles are exempt from ULEZ: All vehicles built before 1 January 1973. Vehicles over 40 years old that have been successfully registered with the DVLA for a historic vehicle tax class."
So, the best choice is to buy & drive a pre-73 car!
Ah_so
If you are a hard up Londoner worried about the cost of driving post-ULEZ, then the following cars are compliant with the rules and won't be subject to the tariff:
Under £2000:
https://www.parkers.co.uk/used-cars/best-ulez-cars-under-2000/
Under £5000:
https://www.expressandstar.com/news/motors/features/2023/07/28/these-are-the-best-ulez-compliant-cars-for-under-5000/
Ah_so
The choices to avoid the ULEZ charge are:
Spend lots on a pre-73 "classic" with high maintenance costs and no aircon or other modcons; or
Buy a car built after 2005 for a few grand.I think for most the preferred choice for most will be to buy a car less than 18 years old rather than a 50 year-old car.
Mr Kipling
Sadly even the Daily Mail occasionally have a true story.
Or is there no knife crime? Grooming gangs and undocumented illegal aliens arriving on small boat on an almost daily basis?
Speed
This is what happens when those who rule are filthy rich.
Jimizo
I’m no big fan of Khan but he’s not filthy rich as far as I’m aware. He’s from a pretty humble background and didn’t amass a huge fortune since then as far as I know. Not skint, but certainly no Sunak.
Knife crime is a problem across the UK but Khan must take some responsibility for the crime in his city.
Grooming gangs have been a problem across the UK, but Khan must take some responsibility for what goes on his city.
As for the small boats crossing the channel, I’m at a loss to come up with what Khan can do in this area.
Farage has been running around the south coast with his binoculars ranting against Sunak for this. It would be strange for even him to have a crack at Khan for this.
nandakandamanda
Will cost me an extra $15 every time someone in my family moves the car, on top of petrol, and parking charges. Low mileage, well maintained vehicle. Compared to the pollution from Russia’s War my car is super clean.
Don’t qualify for the scrappage scheme, (looking at the fine print), and can’t afford a new car. Not a happy bunny.
GBR48
Labour have stayed silent and kept their heads down whilst the Tories trashed the country and economy, counting all the votes they were pulling in, simply by not being the Tories. But that has left Khan as the most high profile Labour politician in the UK. I wonder if he has an eye on the leadership. Starmer has annoyed all the activists and has minimal public image. Labour's biggest problem is that the tabloids will suggest that a Labour government would implement a UK-wide ULEZ. That could cost families thousands, as most of what people do cannot be done via 'active travel' or the UK's rapidly declining public transport system. Nobody is going to vote to pay thousands of pounds of extra tax. If Starmer loses the election, Khan would expect to be favourite to win a leadership ballot.
MiuraAnjin
The most appalling aspect is that Khan tried to suppress an independent study from Imperial College London that proved ULEZ has negligible effect.
Personally I’m annoyed that my EU4 compliant Eunos Roadster is liable fir the charge, just because it’s a personal import. And I really don’t think scrapping it and buying a new car will be better for the environment than the emissions caused by daily trips 300m inside the new ULEZ.
Luddite
Inner London has been a ULEZ zone for some time. I welcome the expansion of the zone. Most of those whining live on the outskirts of London, in the Home Counties. Stop driving into London.
MiuraAnjin
Luddite: Pop in to a pub in Dartford, Romford or Dagenham on Saturday night and express that opinion. See how you get on.
itsonlyrocknroll
Hi Walace, cannot complain, I was surprised post remained up such a length of time, as 90% was indeed off topic. I get a tad emotional about that period of time in London. I can’t remember the BT building name but yes you would have passed on many occasions.
The city hall conservative group postered (note, an edited) Mayor questions ….6 months ago
Sadiq Khan can't answer ULEZ questions - Mayor's Question Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO9IeyguR9Q&t=208s
The Mayor Sadiq Khan commissioned report and impact assessment indicated that ULEZ extension will have little negatable effect to improve air quality and levels of pollution.
Also the revenue driven modelling will fall away after year 2, with the infrastructure, the associated Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology will provide the support for pay per mile road pricing.
If Mayor Sadiq Khan insistence that ULEZ is essential to quote…
The decision to expand the ULEZ London-wide was a difficult one, but necessary to save lives, protect children’s lungs and help prevent asthma, dementia and other health issues.
Then the obvious course of action is to ban all such non ULEZ-compliant cars. Job done
However, Khan ULEZ is revenue driven, simple as that.
The question politically is the effect to Keir Starmer labour election prospects for a change of government, no later than 24 January 2025?
Luddite
Areas of Greater London and Kent that is well served by public transport to get you into London. I live in central London, I prefer people not to drive where I live, especially when there is no need.