Keir Starmer and Sadiq Khan set for Ulez showdown as mayor vows to press on with expansion despite calls to 'reflect'

24 July 2023, 08:16 | Updated: 24 July 2023, 08:17

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

Sadiq Khan is set to press on with his controversial Ulez expansion, despite calls from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to "reflect".

Labour narrowly missed out on Boris Johnson's old seat in last week's Uxbridge by-election, which effectively became a referendum on Ulez.

Senior Labour politicians, including Sir Keir, put the loss down to the controversial expansion of the Ulez, which is set to come into effect at the end of August.

Sir Keir called on Mr Khan to "reflect" on the policy, but sources close to the mayor have said he plans to press on with the plans, despite unrest from Labour's top brass.

"Sadiq still believes expanding the Ulez is the right thing to do to save the lives of Londoners and tackle the climate crisis," a source close the mayor said.

Following the loss in Uxbridge, Mr Khan told LBC other factors were at play, including the fact that the party did not win there in Tony Blair's 1997 landslide.

"I’ve lived in London my entire life. During my life, that seat has never been Labour, even in 1997 when Tony Blair won a landslide victory," the Mayor of London told LBC's Shelagh Fogarty.

“Of course I’m disappointed that Labour didn’t gain this seat for the first time in my lifetime but obviously I welcome the fact there’s been a seven per cent swing to Labour.

“Look, expanding Ulez to all of London wasn’t an easy decision, it was a tough decision but I think it was the right thing for us to do.

“Why? Because we’ve managed to clean up the air for the four million Londoners in inner and central London. What about the five million Londoners in outer London?

“Clean air shouldn’t be a privilege, it should be a right, so of course I’m listening. That’s why I widened the eligibility for Ulez so every family who receives child benefits, every business that employs up to 50 people, every charity can now have three cars."

Read More: 'It's a case of Ulez you lose', Tom Swarbrick tells Tory chairman as Conservatives retain Uxbridge seat

Read More: 'It's another nail in the coffin!': the London businesses at risk of going bust due to ULEZ expansion

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While Mr Khan has vowed to press on, with the current plan to extend the Ulez to come into effect on August 29, he may yet be set back by an ongoing legal challenge.

The Mayor of London is facing a legal challenge from five Tory councils, who have questioned Mr Khan's use of data in justifying the ULEZ expansion.

They include four London councils - Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon - as well as Surrey Council Council, who say there was a "lack of consultation" in expanding the zone.