Labour would support the rollout of clean air zones akin to London’s ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez) if it is elected next year, new plans being considered by the party have shown.
An internal Labour document revealed that one of the key transport policies being looked at that could be part of next year’s manifesto was to support the principle of clean air zones in cities.
The plan stated that these would be supported only “if they were phased in carefully” and there was a “just transition” plan to accompany it.
The details were revealed in an 86-page draft policy handbook that was leaked to the Labour List last week and reveals a number of transport policies being considered by the party.
Clean air zones have sprung up in a number of Labour-led councils across the country, including Birmingham, Bristol and Bradford, with vehicles which do not meet emissions standards being charged to drive in certain zones.
The most well-known clean air zone is in London, where Sadiq Khan, the capital’s mayor, is set to expand the Ulez to cover all 32 London boroughs from August.
Drivers in London have to pay £12.50 if they drive a diesel vehicle more than seven years old, or 17 years if it runs on petrol.
The expansion has been met with widespread criticism by residents and politicians, with five Conservative-led councils set to try and stop the rollout in the High Court in July.
Tory MPs have criticised the inclusion of the policy in the draft document and urged Labour to drop the stance.
Greg Hands, the MP for Chelsea and Fulham, said: “Khan’s cash-grab Ulez expansion is hugely unpopular here in London. Labour need to rule out these unpopular moves on hard-working residents of our great cities.”
Craig Mackinlay, the chairman of the Fair Fuel for UK Motorists and UK Hauliers all-party parliamentary group, warned that Mr Khan’s “war on motorists” would be replicated across the country if Sir Keir Starmer entered Downing Street.
“Sadiq Khan has paved the way for new taxes on motorists, stifling business, interfering with normal people’s lives – particularly the lower-paid,” he told The Telegraph.
“This is all merely a foretaste of what would happen to towns and cities around the UK on the back of so-called clean air zones but will, in reality, be new taxes in disguise.”
Howard Cox, the founder of the FairFuelUK campaign group and Reform UK’s candidate for Mayor of London, said: “It is now clear that voting Labour means more anti-driver policies being introduced across the UK.
“Their misguided belief that the motor car is to be demonised, yet at the same time the perfect conduit to raise more and more tax revenue, is nothing short of stomach-turning and duplicitous.
“Starmer, alongside Sadiq Khan, is out of touch with voters, low-income drivers and small businesses who are hit hardest by their draconian Ulez, low-traffic neighbourhoods and 20mph zones.”
Mr Cox questioned the health data used to justify implementing the policies, which he claimed were “massively immoral”.
A Labour source stressed that the contents of the document were not agreed policy, but just ideas that would be considered at the national executive committee meetings later this year.
He also added that reducing nitrogen dioxide was part of government policy too.
Delivering HS2 and Northern Powerhouse
In January, Sir Keir told LBC Radio that he supported Mr Khan’s Ulez expansion, calling it a “difficult decision that had to be made”.
Last week, he doubled down on this, telling LBC that the expansion was needed to curb lung cancer.
Clean air zones vary across the country, with some applying to all vehicles, while others apply to just some commercial vehicles.
For example, Sheffield charges heavy goods vehicles £50 per day to travel in the centre of the city, and taxis and smaller commercial vehicles pay £10. In Birmingham, all cars must pay £8 a day.
Among the other key transport policies being considered was a pledge to deliver both HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail in full, while also a plan to bring each railway service into public ownership as private rail operator contracts expire.
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2023-05-21 06:00:00Z
CBMiXmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRlbGVncmFwaC5jby51ay9wb2xpdGljcy8yMDIzLzA1LzIxL2xhYm91ci11bGV6LWJyaXRhaW4tY2xlYW4tYWlyLXpvbmVzLW1vdG9yaXN0cy_SAQA
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