Outer London Councils Launch Legal Challenge Against Mayor’s ULEZ Expansion

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks after being reelected in the London mayoral election, at the City Hall in London on May 8, 2021. Henry Nicholls/Reuters

Five Conservative-led councils in outer London have started a legal challenge against London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to expand London’s ultra low emission zone (ULEZ).

The ULEZ is an area in which vehicles that do not meet certain emissions standards must pay a daily charge of £12.50 ($15) to drive or face fines. The scheme currently operates in the areas within London’s North and South Circular roads, covering four million people—around 44 percent of the capital’s population.

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

In November 2022, Transport for London (TfL) announced that it will push on with proposals to expand the scheme to the whole of Greater London from Aug. 29, 2023, forcing more than 200,000 motorists to pay the daily charge.

In a joint statement released on Feb. 16, the outer London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Harrow, Hillingdon, and Surrey County Council said they have launched a judicial review to challenge the decision.

A spokesman for the mayor said it would oppose any challenge to this “vital scheme.”

‘Significant Social and Economic Harm’

The councils said they will challenge the ULEZ expansion in the High Court on the grounds that “relevant statutory requirements” were not complied with, expected compliance rates in outer London were not considered, and the proposed scrappage scheme was not consulted on.

They will also argue that the overall consultation process was not properly conducted and there was a failure to carry out a cost-benefit analysis of the plan.

Leader of Hillingdon Council Ian Edwards said: “ULEZ is the wrong solution in outer London as it will have negligible or nil impact on air quality but will cause significant social and economic harm to our residents. We believe Sadiq Khan’s decision to impose this scheme on outer London boroughs is unlawful.”

His counterpart at Surrey County Council, Tim Oliver, said: “We are committed to delivering a greener future, but it must be done in a practical and sustainable way.

“We are dismayed at the lack of discussion or consideration given to these proposals by the mayor of London. The impact on many Surrey residents and businesses will be significant and we will not stand by and watch that happen with no mitigations offered from the mayor.”

A spokesman for Khan said the Labour-controlled Greater London Authority (GLA) will be “defending any challenge to this vital scheme.”

The spokesman repeated Khan’s claim that “around 4,000 Londoners die prematurely every year due to air pollution,” and said the mayor is “determined to protect the lives of Londoners.”

‘Shocking’ Timing

Before the Surrey County Council joined the legal action, the four outer London boroughs had already pledged their commitment to fighting the ULEZ expansion plans.

Of particular concern is the extra cost to small businesses, many of which rely on vans for transport.

To avoid the ULEZ fee, diesel vehicles, which make up the vast majority of vans—must be Euro 6 standard, which generally covers those registered from 2016.

A delivery van driver or tradesperson entering the zone in an older van every working day will rack up more than £3,100 a year in charges.

Drivers who fail to pay face a £160 penalty each day, which is halved if paid within a fortnight.

Commenting on Khan’s ULEZ decision, Leader of Bromley Council Colin Smith told The Epoch Times: “What this is all about is money.”

He said that local residents and independent business owners such as plumbers and workmen are under pressure to buy vans that need to meet minimum emissions standards.

“New vans are increasingly in short supply and the price is higher because they’re in demand,” he said.

“People are struggling to pay their bills at the moment, for all sorts of reasons. And even if this were the right idea, the timing of it is absolutely shocking,” said Smith.

‘Mad Lefty Tax’

Khan’s ULEZ decision has been criticised by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said last month that it is “disappointing” that the mayor, with backing from Labour leader Keir Starmer, is “choosing not to listen to the public.”

“I urge the Mayor to properly reconsider and respond to these serious concerns,” he said during Prime Minister’s Questions on Jan. 18.

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Khan’s predecessor as London mayor, posted a video on Twitter on Wednesday, accusing Khan of trying to “rake in money” from motorists.

“There’s only one reason why he’s doing it,“ Johnson said. ”He has bankrupted TfL by his mismanagement of the finances of London, and he wants to rake in money from motorists in outer London and beyond in a way that is completely unreasonable and unnecessary for air quality.”

Johnson urged people to “fight his plans to take money off hard-pressed motorists at a very, very difficult time, and stop this mad lefty tax on people’s lives and livelihoods.”

In response, Khan said on Thursday that he will take “no lectures” from his predecessor “who ignored the science and ignored the facts.”

Owen Evans, Lily Zhou, and PA Media contributed to this report.