Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ figures are ‘trumped up nonsense’, Tory rival claims | Politics | News | EUROtoday

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Sadiq Khan‘s figures on the affect of London’s controversial Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) are “trumped up nonsense”, mayoral election rival Susan Hall has claimed.

The Mayor of London hailed the “remarkable progress” made in enhancing London’s poisonous air throughout his tenure after a report confirmed roadside pollution falling sooner within the capital than wherever else in Britain.

As seen by the Guardian newspaper, the report from the Greater London Authority and Transport for London (TfL) attributed a lot of the development to ULEZ.

That scheme now covers the entire of London and sees the homeowners of extra polluting autos pay a £12.50 day by day cost to drive within the capital.

The analysis exhibits nitrogen dioxide pollution fell by 49 p.c between 2016 and 2023, in accordance with the Guardian. It additionally reveals NO2 ranges have been decrease final 12 months than in 2020, when there the UK was below lockdown.

Ms Hall, who has pledged to scrap ULEZ if elected mayor, stated Mr Khan’s “disastrous” enlargement of the scheme has hit households, small enterprise homeowners and charities with a cost they can not afford.

She instructed GB News: “The figures he is using are trumped-up nonsense. Why? Because the real impact report he has decided to hide until after the election.

“It is a joke, however nobody is laughing. I’ll take heed to Londoners and scrap the ULEZ enlargement on day one in all my Mayoralty, no ifs no buts.”

Her remarks came on the day Mr Khan said he regrets the fact voters in London won’t be able to see data on ULEZ’s specific air quality impacts ahead of the May 2 vote.

TfL’s Chief Customer and Strategy Officer Alex Williams told the Evening Standard a six month report will be published in May or June, as the report required a “enormous” amount of analysis and independent peer review by experts.

He told the publication: “It’s not going to be pre-election, due to the pre-election interval… however will probably be as quickly as we will after the election. It’s not us hiding it. It’s a extremely difficult piece of research.”

Responding to Ms Hall’s claim he is hiding the real impact report, Mr Khan told the Evening Standard pre-election rules which begin on March 19 mean key findings would have to wait until after Londoners cast their votes.

The report published on Friday (March 8) reported by the Guardian shows London’s cleaner air came despite the capital seeing more than a million people added to its population.

Overall air pollution concentrations have fallen by 65 percent in central London since 2016.

They fell by 53 percent in inner London and 45 percent in outer London over the same period, according to the report.

The report reportedly fails to mention the potential impact of the Silvertown Tunnel, which is currently being built between Greenwich and Newham in east London.

Campaigners have long argued the new tunnel will increase pollution, though City Hall insists it will ease congestion and lead to improved bus services.

Mr Khan told the Guardian: “Every Londoner needs to be happy with the outstanding progress we’ve made in enhancing our air high quality since 2016. Together we’ve lower roadside nitrogen dioxide air pollution in half and achieved the bottom annual ranges on document.

“London is leading the way, cleaning up our air at a much faster rate than the rest of the UK. Clean air matters for so many reasons – helping to increase children’s life expectancy, reduce hospital admissions for asthma and serious lung conditions, and enable people to lead longer, healthier lives.”

Express.co.uk has approached the Mayor of London’s Office.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1875457/sadiq-khan-susan-hall-ulez