Sadiq Khan is open to new ideas for mitigating the impact of the anti-pollution levy in London being expanded next month, but refusing to back down on the planned timing of its implementation.
Despite pressure from some in Labour for city hall to rethink the policy they believe lost the party the Uxbridge and South Ruislip byelection on Thursday, the mayor is determined for it to come into force.
Aides said Khan and the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, had a “constructive” call on Friday. It was agreed there would be follow-up discussions between staff, suggesting there is a live conversation about how the expansion of the ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez) will work in practice.
Khan has sought to signal he is in listening mode and it is understood from those close to city hall that he is happy to look at any new ideas for ways to mitigate the impact on Londoners.
However, the London mayor will not compromise on any moves that could reduce the effectiveness of the policy, which is designed to tackle air pollution and climate change.
Khan last month widened the pool of people who can get financial support to replace polluting vehicles, ahead of Ulez being expanded from its current boundaries of the north and south circular to the whole of Greater London.
City hall sources did not rule out further such moves, given the Tories managed to successfully turn this week’s byelection in west London into a referendum on the Ulez extension.
However, they were keen to stress that nine out of 10 cars in outer London are unaffected and will not have to pay the extra £12.50 a day surcharge.
Starmer nodded to Ulez having been an issue at the byelection on Thursday. The result meant the Conservatives escaped a triple trouncing as Labour won in Selby and Ainsty and the Liberal Democrats took Somerton and Frome.
Starmer told delegates at Labour’s policy forum: “That result in Uxbridge demonstrates there is never any reason to be complacent and never a reason to rest on our laurels.”
Quoting the party’s candidate in Uxbridge, Danny Beales, he added: “It is a reminder, as Danny said, that in an election, policy matters.
“And we are doing something very wrong if policies put forward by the Labour party end up on each and every Tory leaflet. We’ve got to face up to that and learn the lessons.”
The future of the Ulez expansion faces greater uncertainty given it is subject to a judicial review, the outcome of which is expected to be known before the end of July.
Meanwhile, Michael Gove warned against treating environmental issues like a “religious crusade”. The communities secretary told the Sunday Telegraph that “evangelical” campaign groups pushing for an inflexible application of measures to reduce pollution would lead to a backlash.
Lee Rowley, a minister in Gove’s department, insisted in a later interview on Sunday that “we still have the objective of treading more lightly on the Earth”.
He told Times Radio: “I think everybody agrees with that; I think it is a very sensible thing to do. We have set a series of targets, very ambitious targets to get to 2050.
“But what I think Uxbridge shows is that we have to do this in a careful manner, a manner over the course of several decades – and we have to take people with us.
“And that is something that the Labour party failed to do in making their case in Uxbridge, and what the government wants to be very careful about doing is making sure that people come with us on this journey.”
