London Mayor Sadiq Khan plans to expand the Ultra-low Emission Zone (ULEZ) to cover all of London’s boroughs. If Mr Khan’s plans are successful, non-compliant vehicles will have to pay £12.50 every day to drive in the capital as soon as August 2023.
So far, there have been mixed reactions to the proposals. Those who are against the measures say that the ULEZ expansion is anti-motorist and simply another tax on the poor.
However, Mr Khan argued that it will save lives. He previously told the BBC: “We have a big problem in our city.
“It’s a crisis, it’s an air quality crisis, which is leading to more than 4,000 premature deaths each year because of this invisible killer.
“Children are left with stunted lungs forever because of the poor air quality.
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However, many Londoners disagreed with the mayor. Some of them have claimed that they are being “priced out of the city”.
One Londoner said: “I think you can’t expect to just bring these things in and expect everybody to trade in their cars and get a new one if there aren’t electricity points there to power our cars”.
Another added: “We are paying congestion charge as well as ULEZ charge. With the tube prices going up we’re just being priced out of the city.”
A third said: “Sometimes these changes hurt and they’re costly.
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“We do need to see how we can subsidise people who need it definitely but looking at the bigger picture I think it’s an essential thing.”
Bob Blackman, Conservative MP for Harrow East, agreed with those who are against the introduction of ULEZ.
He told the BBC: “The mayor of course says it’s the city but we live in suburbia.
“And in Harrow, we have 2.5 cars per household, almost all of which would be non-compliant.
“People who are on low incomes can’t afford to change their cars.”
However, Labour MP for Lewisham West and Penge, Ellie Reeves, highlighted that the mayor needs to get the right balance.
She said that her constituents are really worried about the air quality.
Ms Reeves added: “We’ve got to clean up London’s air. I don’t want Londoners penalised, but poor Londoners are actually more likely to be affected by the poor air quality and they don’t own a vehicle. We’ve got to get this balance right.
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