Tory MP Gareth Johnson is challenging London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Ulez expansion after it generated £5.3 million in its first week. The Mail has more.
Kent MP Gareth Johnson is to try to get the Greater London Low Emission Zone Charging (Amendment) Bill into law to reverse what he said was an “unfair stealth tax” on his constituents.
The Dartford Conservative is targeting August’s expansion of Ulez to all 32 boroughs, which means everyone travelling within and into Great London in a non-compliant vehicle has to pay £12.50 every day.
It comes as data shows that the expansion from inner London netted almost 300,000 extra drivers who were charged in the first week it was in operation. More than 425,000 Ulez charges were paid in the week following the extension, compared to just 140,000 the week before.
Mr. Johnson said: “This is an unfair stealth tax on the people of Dartford and across the South East, hitting the poorest the hardest. The London Mayor, Sadiq Khan has no mandate for this.
“Expanding Ulez was not in his manifesto or in his transport strategy, and the consultation on the expansion showed that people did not want it. It impacts people in Kent and other counties around London who cannot vote in or out the London Mayor. It is taxation without accountability.
“It punishes those on lower incomes who can least afford to buy a newer car to avoid the daily charge. There are also no guarantees the standard for meeting the Ulez threshold will not be changed in the future to include more vehicles.
“My proposed bill is to overturn the Ulez expansion and ensure the London Mayor cannot impose this unfair tax on the people of Dartford and beyond.”
Mr. Johnson will table the new law as a Private Member’s Bill, which is unlikely to succeed unless it attracts Government backing. …
Research by car marketplace Motorway previously showed that 16% of Londoners, or around 714,000 people, own a vehicle that is not compliant with the Ulez restrictions.
Motorway co-founder Alex Buttle told the Times: “With the continued cost of living crisis and the recent expansion of London’s Ulez, more drivers who use the zone are questioning their driving habits.”
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