Conservative London Mayoral Candidate Vows to Scrap ULEZ Expansion

Conservative candidate for mayor of London, Susan Hall, arriving at the Rumbling Tum cafe in Uxbridge, west London, following the party's success in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election on July 21, 2023. Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire

The Conservative Party’s candidate for mayor of London has vowed to roll back the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion “on day one” of being in office.

Susan Hall has committed she will order Transport for London (TfL) to cease enforcement of the measures and will then begin the statutory process for removing the ULEZ expansion entirely, according to the Conservative candidate’s manifesto published on Monday.

“The ULEZ expansion is unfair and needs to be scrapped on day one,” Ms. Hall said, with her manifesto stating that ending enforcement will “bring relief to families on low incomes, traders, small business owners, and charities that cannot afford this tax.”

“An overwhelming majority of Londoners rejected it at the official consultation. The official independent impact assessment found that it would only have a negligible effect on air pollution, whilst hitting the poorest hardest. He [London Mayor Sadiq Khan] ignored Londoners and pushed this through, to cover the cost of his mismanagement of TfL’s finances,” the manifesto adds.

In August 2023, ULEZ was expanded to all of London’s boroughs. Drivers of vehicles that do not meet TfL’s emissions standards and which are not exempt must pay a £12.50 daily charge to drive within the zone.

Londoners go to the polls on May 2, with Mr. Khan standing for reelection.

‘Stop the War on Motorists’

Ms. Hall has made stopping the “war on motorists” a prominent part of her election pledges, including removing unwanted low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) and scrapping 20 mph zones “where it is safe to do so.”

LTNs are residential areas where access to vehicles is restricted using bollards, planters, or road signs. They aim to reduce traffic and air pollution and make neighbourhoods more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists, but they have seen local opposition across the UK.

In March, Lambeth Council was forced to suspend its LTN trial scheme in response to complaints about delays on bus journeys, with Mr. Khan admitting that the LTN in Streatham “is causing huge problems.”

Limiting speeds to 20 mph has also come under scrutiny, with Wales’s government recently stating that it would “correct” its guidance around the introduction of the speed limits in built-up areas.

Ms. Hall’s bid to “get London moving” would see a transport strategy that would also extend the Night Tube up to four more lines and reinstate the Freedom Pass and over-60s Oyster Card to cover peak morning hours.

Khan Denies Plans for Pay-per-Mile Scheme

Ms. Hall has also claimed Mr. Khan will introduce a “pay-per-mile” scheme for drivers in London, which the Conservative candidate has pledged to scrap.

“Sadiq Khan won’t be able to fund his ridiculous, uncosted billion-pound manifesto unless he brings in pay-per-mile and slashes police funding even further, which would be devastating for every family in London,” Ms. Hall said.

Mr. Khan has repeatedly denied that he would introduce such a scheme, saying in September 2023, “As long as I am mayor, we are not going to have pay-per-mile.” In February, TfL also said that pay-per-mile charging “has been ruled out.”

Although Mr. Khan ruled out the scheme, he had previously spoken in support of pay-per-mile, commissioning TfL to explore how it might work. That proposal was abandoned in favour of expanding ULEZ throughout greater London.

Susan Hall, the Conservative London mayoral candidate, speaking to protesters during an anti-ULEZ protest in Trafalgar Square, London, on Jan. 27, 2024. Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Community-Based Policing

Elsewhere, Ms. Hall promised to recruit 1,500 more police officers and open two police bases in every borough in an effort to make the city safer.

She has committed to setting up specialist units to tackle robberies, thefts, and burglaries, and to work with British Transport Police to catch more sexual harassment perpetrators on London’s public transport network.

Protesters display signs criticising Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the ULEZ expansion, outside Downing Street in London, on Aug. 29, 2023. Joseph Robertson/The Epoch Times

The Conservative has also pledged to return London to a system of borough-based policing to better serve London’s local communities.

Ms. Hall criticised Mr. Khan’s switch to Basic Command Units where officers can be split across four boroughs, saying this had “broken the vital link between police officers and local communities, making it harder to gather local intelligence and respond to local issues.”

Under the Conservatives’ plan, every borough will have its own police unit and borough commander so that police have a “proper presence on the streets again, working within their communities to stop crime from happening.”

The Conservative Party has said the manifesto is fully costed, with pledges covered by cutting “bloated” spending at City Hall and TfL, without affecting services.

However, Labour has claimed the policies would leave a £515 million shortfall. Shadow Cabinet minister Jonathan Ashworth called the plans “reckless, irresponsible, and uncosted,” stating that the spending commitments would leave Londoners facing a rise in travel fares and council tax and cuts in services.

PA Media contributed to this report.