Sadiq Khan has been labelled as a hypocrite for pressing ahead with his ULEZ expansion that could see Londoner’s hit with a £3,000 annual bill for driving in the capital.
London’s controversial mayor unveiled a £110M scrappage scheme yesterday that allows car drivers to apply for a £2,000 grant to scrap or replace a vehicle that does not comply with the ULEZ rules.
Grants of £5,000 are available for non-compliant vans whereas up to £9,500 is available for charities wanting to switch to an electric minibus.
The scheme was announced as the penalty for not paying a ULEZ fine increased to a whopping £180.
The current ULEZ charge is £12.50 per day, with RAC forecasting that the Khan will rake in £260m per year once the expansion happens in August.
London’s 30,000 van drivers have expressed concern that there aren’t nearly enough previously owned and compliant vans available to enable them all to make the switch, with the only other alternatives being to buy a more expensive model from new – an all-electric Ford Transit costs around £40,000 – or pay the daily charge that would set you back £3,000 per year.
The Mayor is pressing ahead with the expansion despite fierce opposition from Londoners, with 80% against the idea, and questions remaining over the validity of his health benefit claims, while people have also criticised the fact that NHS staff won’t be exempt and could even be charged twice given their shifts often span two days.
Not only that, but some are seeing the expansion as an effort to rescue his failing TfL programme that has run up a £740m deficit under his watch despite rail fares rising by 20% during the same timeframe.
Others are saying his policies stink of rank hypocrisy, with two of his own Labour councillors complaining that two parking spaces were allocated to him at the new City Hall HQ in East London's Royal Docks, despite his own planning policies stating that new office developments should be car-free.
This came just before he announced a cost-of-living campaign that would see a bus tour London offering helpful advice. Low and behold, the renovated £145,000 bus was a… diesel.
One rule for one?
Khan has also been widely ridiculed for taking a gas-guzzling three-car convoy on trips including on a 4.5-mile journey to Battersea Park in order to walk his pet dog Luna, despite complaining the inner city was 'clogged by cars'.
Are you for or against the expansion and do you agree with how Sadiq Khan operates? Let us know in the comments below.
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