I ought not to air my views on the extension to the Ultra low emission zone (Ulez). Because as a light-sleeping, car-less Londoner living on a busy road, I’d ban them all.
Now, even in this benign dictatorship, there would be exceptions. Emergency services, of course. Also, the nice man who delivers sourdough loaves to my local corner shop. And the occasional Uber that takes me home when I’m tired and emotional. Ok, I can see my ideological position has eroded somewhat.
The politics of cars is, to mix metaphors, a bit of a third rail. Drivers see their vehicles as an extension of their personal property and often consider regulations or charges an invasion of their personal space. So Sadiq Khan is likely to have been aware of the risks inherent in his decision to push ahead with the Ulez extension, set to come into force on 29 August.
The Mayor has brushed off the attacks from City Hall Conservatives, Tory councils and the prime minister. Indeed, one gets the impression he is rather enjoying the dividing line he has drawn. But things get a little dicier when the criticism is emanating from your own side.
Over the past few weeks, an increasing number of Labour MPs and councillors have publicly written to Khan, calling on him to extend eligibility criteria for the £110m vehicle scrappage scheme. Some of these letters were curiously similarly worded and came only shortly before today’s announcement.
Is it a conspiracy? Louie French, Conservative MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, called the move a “clearly coordinated Labour Party announcement”. Which might be true, but another word for it is politics.
Anyway, under the revised scheme, there will now be support for:
- Londoners receiving child benefit (578,315 families in outer London)
- Businesses registered in London with fewer than 50 employees (currently, only those with up to 10 staff can apply)
- London-based charities looking to scrap or retrofit up to three vans or minibuses, instead of just one
- Care workers who need support will also be “targeted for help"
Of course, this is not the same as an injection of new money. As of now, a little over £25m of the £110m budget has been allocated. Inevitably, these new criteria will accelerate the rate at which the budget is gobbled up. While human behaviour also dictates that many applications will arrive right before the August 29 extension date.
Might more money be made available? Noah Vickers, the Standard’s local democracy reporter, spoke with Khan this morning. He said the Mayor was continuing to lobby ministers for the cash, and struck a cautiously optimistic tone, suggesting the government has been known to change their minds on things.
But with the Tory contest for Mayor hotting up, and candidates including minister for London Paul Scully, relying on central government largesse seems a hostage to fortune.
Ultimately, this is about that most amorphous of political buzzwords, ‘fairness’. A recent TfL analysis found that more than one in six of vehicles registered in outer London did not meet the new exhaust emission rules, and so will be subject to the £12.50-a-day charge. On the other hand, the poorest Londoners are the least likely to own cars but the most likely to suffer from the impacts of toxic air.
There will be winners and losers, but as ever, the latter tend to be loudest.
In the comment pages, Andy Burnham says we must act now to stop short-sightedness from ruining HS2. Prudence Ivey warns that 100 per cent mortgages are not the easy route to home ownership London renters are hoping for. While looking at some major age gaps between famous men and younger women, Emma Loffhagen says ‘roll up’ for the icky Olympics.
And finally, the OG Sugababes are back, S Club are selling out the O2 Arena and Kelly Rowland is headlining Mighty Hoopla at Brockwell Park. The Noughties revival is well and truly underway, reports Jonathan Kanengoni.
