Poll Reveals One in Four Tradesman Say ULEZ Worsening Trade

Signs for the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) are pictured in central London on April 8, 2019. Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images

Nearly a quarter of London tradesmen say the mayor of London’s air pollution-cutting scheme that charges motorists by the day to drive has had a detrimental impact on business.

According to a study, London-based tradespeople such as builders, plumbers, roofers electricians and more are being hit by Sadiq Khan’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

The research was conducted by Fix Radio, a national radio station dedicated to tradespeople, across a nationally representative cohort of 2,090 respondents.

Fix said that 23 percent of London tradespeople say it is too expensive to use their van or vehicle for work due to the cost of driving into London. The Builders Merchants Federation has called for a 12-month delay to the ULEZ expansion which is set to take effect in August—covering most of Greater London.

A sign at the expanded boundary of London’s ULEZ pollution charge zone for older vehicles on Oct. 25, 2021. Yui Mok/PA

Danny Madden, of Madden Builders, a family business that was founded by his grandad in the 1960s, told The Epoch Times that ULEZ has affected his business such as, in part, having to buy a new compliant vehicle. He called it a “money-making tax.”

“We had a Mitsubishi Evo truck, which was absolutely brilliant. Not nothing wrong with it. It was an absolute workhorse and we had to get rid of it,” he said, adding that he had to fork out thousands for a new one as the market has “skyrocketed.”

Transport for London is running a £110 million scrappage scheme that offers a maximum of £2,000 for cars and £9,500 for vans that don’t meet the standards. However, according to an analysis from Auto Trader in February, London faces a shortage of used vehicles to avoid being hit by ULEZ fines.

Madden said used vans are going for “at least” £24,000. “There was absolutely nothing I’m going to get for 10,000,” he said.

ULEZ

ULEZ is an area in which vehicles that do not meet certain emissions standards must pay a daily charge of £12.50 to drive or face fines. It currently covers 4 million people, or around 44 percent of London’s population.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced the world’s first ULEZ in 2015 when he was London mayor.

Khan claims that each year 4,000 Londoners “die prematurely each year because of long-term exposure to air pollution, with the greatest number of deaths in outer London boroughs.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan makes a statement to the media at New Scotland Yard in London, on Sept. 25, 2020. Victoria Jones—WPA Pool/Getty Images

According to a recent Freedom of Information request, there are 1,400 cameras used for ULEZ enforcement that can read number plates and check vehicle compliance.

Some have previously questioned why the scheme is being pushed even though a planned ban on new petrol and diesel cars is coming in by 2030 and that by 2027 there’ll be no revenue for ULEZ.

‘Cash Grab’

“It is no surprise to anyone with half a brain, that small businesses will be hit hardest by Sadiq Khan’s undemocratic ULEZ cash grab,” Howard Cox, co-founder of pressure group Fair Fuel UK, told The Epoch Times by email.

Cox is running to be mayor of London with the political party Reform and has pledged to remove ULEZ if elected.

Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuel UK campaign, sits for a photograph in London, England on April 5, 2023. NTD

In May, a report, commissioned by Fair Fuel UK and written by economic consultancy CEBR, warned ULEZ would have a “significantly” negative impact on the city’s economy.

Khan disputed the findings of the report.

“I am the only London mayoral candidate that has also proven through independent economic analysis that nigh on £1 billion per year is being stripped from our Capitals GDP each year because of ULEZ,” said Cox.

“The impact on low-income drivers and sole traders will be catastrophic, all for an ill-informed green idealism,” he added.

The Ultra Low Emission Zone is to expand to the North and South circulars from 2021. Transport for London

Extra Fees

Clive Holland, broadcaster on Fix Radio, said the measures were “all burdens to tradespeople.”

“When the ban on red diesel came, the ULEZ extension, the general taxation of vehicles and the electric vans requirement, they are all burdens to tradespeople which seriously affects their income,” he said.

Hollands said that it “is not only happening in London it’s happening in cities around the UK including Birmingham and Bath, the tradesperson who is going about their daily job I think is being victimised.”

“Particularly at this time with Brits battling inflation and recession it means that customers are turning down jobs because they can’t afford it and tradespeople are encountering extra fees, such as the ULEZ charge which makes jobs less desirable,” he added.

The Epoch Times contacted the mayor of London for comment.