Keir Starmer WON'T save desperate Londoners from ULEZ expansion

Keir Starmer WON’T step in to save desperate Londoners from Sadiq Khan’s hated ULEZ expansion taking effect tomorrow – even though the Labour leader wants the mayor to ‘think again’

Keir Starmer will not step in to save desperate Londoners from Sadiq Khan’s hated ULEZ expansion taking effect tomorrow. 

Labour frontbencher Justin Madders said the leader wanted the mayor to ‘think again’ because of the impact the wider charge will have during the cost-of-living crisis.

But he insisted that Sir Keir has no intention of ‘imposing’ his view on Mr Khan, who has vowed to press ahead despite the huge backlash.

The bulk of Greater London will be covered by the £12.50 a day levy from tomorrow. 

It will hit petrol vehicles introduced earlier than 2005 that are not compliant with Euro 4 emissions regulations. 

Meanwhile, diesel cars and vans will only be exempt if their engine complies with more recent Euro 6 rules, which were introduced in September 2015. 

Keir Starmer’s allies are adamant he will not save desperate Londoners from Sadiq Khan’s (pictured) hated ULEZ expansion taking effect tomorrow

How the Ultra Low Emission Zone has expanded across London throughout the years

Sir Keir has been trying to distance himself from the policy since it was blamed for Labour’s failure to win the Uxbridge & South Ruislip by-election

Shadow employment minister Justin Madders told Sky News this morning that ‘ everyone would agree that dealing with air pollution is an important issue’ but affordability has to be considered

This will snare popular vans registered before the cut-off date including Ford Transit Custom 310s. 

Sir Keir has been trying to distance himself from the policy since it was blamed for Labour’s failure to win the Uxbridge & South Ruislip by-election, triggered by Boris Johnson’s resignation from the Commons.

Senior Labour figures fear that anger at the policy could cost the party key outer London seats in the general election next year.  

Shadow employment minister Justin Madders told Sky News this morning that ‘everyone would agree that dealing with air pollution is an important issue’ but affordability has to be considered.

‘What it shows is that when someone is democratically elected by the people that they represent, they have the mandate. He is entitled to continue to govern London in the way he sees fit,’ he said.

READ MORE – From Heathrow Airport to Chessington World of Adventures: Five ways the new ULEZ expansion could catch drivers out 

‘We are also entitled to say to him we think he should think again and reconsider some of his policies when it’s having an effect on people.

‘But we are not going to start imposing on people, local councils and mayors, our view on the way the world works because we actually want to go in the opposite direction – we want to give communities greater power and say over their own futures.’

There has been a rush of people heading to Transport for London’s online checker to see whether their car is compliant, caused technical issues – with the website warning of delays. 

Anti-ULEZ campaigners have ramped up the pressure on Mr Khan by leaving a caravan covered with protest messages parked outside his home in Tooting. 

The mobile home – which has been dubbed a ‘Khan-ovan of hate’ – describes the Mayor as the ‘dictator of London’.

Other messages include a picture of the Mayor next to quote marks reading: ‘Pay me £12.50 and you can pollute for 24 hours’ and multiple proclamations to ‘sack Khan.’ 

One local, who spotted the caravan, said the expansion of the scheme has sparked anger among people in the area.

Nearly nine out of 10 Ulez cameras have been vandalised in southeast London , according to an analysis of crowd-sourced data

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