Ulez is more than a political football – it’s a matter of life and death for people like me
The Guardian
Mon, 24 July 2023
I am a previously fit and healthy woman in her early 60s, a never-smoker who was diagnosed with lung cancer three weeks ago.
Lung cancer in never-smokers (LCNS) doubled in the UK between 2008 and 2014. It now accounts for 15% of lung cancers diagnosed and is responsible for around 6,000 deaths a year. Recent research at UCL and the Francis Crick Institute has found that exposure to fine particulate pollution, specifically PM 2.5, is linked to LCNS as well as the growth of other cancers.
The ill-advised tax breaks on particulate emitting diesel vehicles earlier this century could well account for the UK’s huge increase in LCNS, not to mention unknowable consequences for the future health of children exposed to toxic air.
I was appalled to hear Chris Philp MP, on Any Questions on BBC Radio 4 last week, dismiss the positive impact of London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) when published data from Imperial College London shows that harmful emissions have reduced by 26% within the expanded Ulez area, and that the Ulez has reduced PM 2.5 levels by 41% since 2017.
I am now facing an uncertain future and considering treatment options. Meanwhile, measures to reduce pollution in London are being politicised, and serious risks to the health of the capital’s population pitted against election prospects (Starmer urges Khan to ‘reflect’ on Ulez rules after Uxbridge defeat, 22 July).
Name and address supplied
• Rishi Sunak explains the narrow Tory byelection victory in Uxbridge and South Ruislip as the consequence of fighting on “a matter of substance” (Tory election victory hopes hit by shattering byelection defeats, 22 July).
This “matter of substance” involved measures to reduce air pollution, which causes the premature deaths of thousands of Londoners every year and worsens the lives of up to 500,000 asthma sufferers in the capital. The Tory candidate admits he focused on the concerns of local residents on how the Ulez may affect their ability to use their cars without paying the cost of the pollution they generate. In fact, 90% of the cars being driven in outer London would not be subject to Ulez payments.
Dr Martin Price
Poole, Dorset
• After the Conservative victory, tiny as it was, in Uxbridge, there is talk of political parties losing their nerve over green policies. Keir Starmer is saying that we must listen to voters. But the real problem is that no party, with the exception of the Greens, is being honest with the electorate about the consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss. Instead, they say the economy must come first. But this is a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between the economy and the environment.
Party leaders often speak as if the environment is somehow a subset of the economy. But of course the economy is really a subset of the environment – there can be no economy without a healthy environment. This is what politicians need to be honest about. It’s the environment, stupid.
Prof Hugh Dunkerley
Brighton
• With debates raging over Ulez, and over retention and pay within the NHS, I wonder whether a simple way to aid both these causes might be to review the age requirement to receive a Freedom Pass, which allows free travel, while offering the lower-paid in the NHS free travel within inner and outer London.
Living close to hospitals is often not an option within London for lower-paid staff, and transport is a considerable cost. Some staff struggle to keep a car, which they have to pay to park and which now also has to be Ulez compliant. Could London’s mayor offer Freedom Passes to this group of workers, thus targeting help at the lower paid, contributing towards staff retention and helping to keep cars off the road?
Sally Giles
London
• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
OPINION - The Standard View: Sadiq Khan must hold fast over Ulez expansion
Evening Standard Comment
Mon, 24 July 2023
(Christian Adams)
It is a simple political principle that good policy makes for good politics — the thinking being that voters reward leaders who improve their lives. But the connection, insofar as it exists, is not absolute. Something Labour learned the hard way in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
The extension to the ultra low emission zone is vital to rid the capital of its toxic air and save lives. It is not just the tragic case of nine-year-old south Londoner Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who became the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death. Research from Imperial College London found that in 2019, toxic air contributed to the premature deaths of around 4,000 Londoners.
Clearly, the imposition of what is effectively a new tax — even on a small minority of non-compliant car owners — would represent a presentational challenge at the best of times, let alone amid a cost-of-living crisis. The close result in one by-election is reason to double down on inducements, not least the more generous car scrappage scheme this newspaper has consistently called for. What it does not justify is a delay to or a dilution of the Ulez extension itself.
The Mayor should ignore pressure from his party leader and hold his nerve.
Evening Standard Comment
Mon, 24 July 2023
(Christian Adams)
It is a simple political principle that good policy makes for good politics — the thinking being that voters reward leaders who improve their lives. But the connection, insofar as it exists, is not absolute. Something Labour learned the hard way in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
The extension to the ultra low emission zone is vital to rid the capital of its toxic air and save lives. It is not just the tragic case of nine-year-old south Londoner Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who became the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death. Research from Imperial College London found that in 2019, toxic air contributed to the premature deaths of around 4,000 Londoners.
Clearly, the imposition of what is effectively a new tax — even on a small minority of non-compliant car owners — would represent a presentational challenge at the best of times, let alone amid a cost-of-living crisis. The close result in one by-election is reason to double down on inducements, not least the more generous car scrappage scheme this newspaper has consistently called for. What it does not justify is a delay to or a dilution of the Ulez extension itself.
The Mayor should ignore pressure from his party leader and hold his nerve.
Sadiq Khan to press ahead with Ulez expansion amid Labour pressure
Aubrey Allegretti Chief political correspondent
Aubrey Allegretti Chief political correspondent
THE GUARDIAN
Sun, 23 July 2023
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.
A call between Khan and the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, on Friday was, aides said, “constructive”. 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.
Related: Ulez: what is it, how much does it cost and why is it so controversial?
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.”
Sun, 23 July 2023
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.
A call between Khan and the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, on Friday was, aides said, “constructive”. 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.
Related: Ulez: what is it, how much does it cost and why is it so controversial?
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.”
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