Labour candidate in Boris's seat backs Sadiq Khan's Ulez vehicle tax

2023-06-13

Labour candidate in Boris’s seat Danny Beales backs Sadiq Khan’s Ulez car tax saying ‘we all want cleaner air’ and suggests struggling families should blame the Tory government if they can’t afford the extra £12.50 daily bill to drive in London

Labour’s candidate to replace Boris Johnson in Parliament sparked fury today by backing Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ tax and suggesting struggling families hit by the £250-a-month green levy should blame the Government.

Danny Beales said ‘we all need cleaner air’ as he was challenged over the £12.50 daily emissions toll, which will be expanded to outer London areas like Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

And while he admitted that some will find payments ‘tough’ he blamed the way ‘this government has mismanaged the economy’ and eaten into their spare cash.

Mr Beales will contest the constituency in the west London borough of Hillingdon after the shock decision by Mr Johnson to quit his seat to avoid censure over Partygate lawbreaking.

Labour is hoping to overturn Mr Johnson’s 7,210 majority, but the plan to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in August could still cause the party problems.

Conservative Party chairman Greg Hands said: ‘I’ve been in Uxbridge today to kick off our by-election campaign, where residents have been telling me how furious they are with Sadiq Khan’s cynical ULEZ cash grab.

Danny Beales said ‘we all need cleaner air’ as he defended plans for the £12.50 daily emissions levy to be expanded to outer London areas like Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

Mr Beales will contest the constituency in the borough of Hillingdon after the shock decision by Mr Johnson to quit his seat to avoid censure over Partygate lawbreaking.

Asked by ITV if he supported Ulez Mr Beales, 34, a charity worker, said: ‘I think it is tough at the moment for families facing the potential of an extra bill when this government has mismanaged the economy – mortgage rates are up, fuel bills are up, food bills are up, so it is difficult – but I think what we need is a strategy from the government to transition our vehicles’

‘But it’s clear that Labour would rather back Mayor Khan than stick up for Uxbridge residents – selecting to be their candidate a Camden councillor who wanted ULEZ expanded years ago.

‘Only the Conservatives can be trusted to stand up for Uxbridge’s motorists.’

Asked by ITV if he supported ULEZ Mr Beales, 34, a charity worker, said: ‘We all want cleaner air, we all need to take polluting cars off the roads, to get more electric vehicles and we need to do that in the right way.

‘I think it is tough at the moment for families facing the potential of an extra bill when this government has mismanaged the economy – mortgage rates are up, fuel bills are up, food bills are up, so it is difficult – but I think what we need is a strategy from the government to transition our vehicles.

‘We all want electric vehicles and this government is doing nothing to make it happen.’

But Howard Cox, the founder of FairFuelUK and the Reform UK candidate for London mayor, said the main parties ‘are under the delusion that we all want to own expensive and impractical electric vehicles’.

‘This could not be further from the truth and shows how our politicos are completely out of touch with public opinion,’ he said.

‘The detested Ulez expansion will not make any demonstrable difference to the quality of the air we breathe, as clearly proven by Khan’s very own Transport for London.’

Mr Cox, who is running on a platform of scrapping ULEZ across all fo London, added: They are simply following the scent of an easy cash grab under the trendy naïve journey to the ruling elite’s unattainable net zero pipedream.’

Constituency level polling by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft earlier this month found voters were quite evenly divided as to whether they would prefer a Conservative government with Rishi Sunak as prime minister (29 per cent) or a Labour government led by Sir Keir (27 per cent) – while 30 per cent wanted neither.

However, there is the additional complicating factor of an insurgent campaign of rightwing Reclaim party leader Laurence Fox, which could claim some Tory votes.

The Tory civil war that has helped the party plummet in the polls is unlikely to die down any time soon.

Boris Johnson will reportedly be found tomorrow to have deliberately misled MPs over parties in Downing Street during the pandemic.

The Privileges Committee has rejected the former prime minister’s defence that senior officials advised him Covid rules and guidance had been followed in No 10, according to the Times.

But Mr Johnson – who resigned on Friday after receiving the group’s report – struck a defiant tone, quoting Arnold Schwarzenegger as he told the Daily Express: ‘I’ll be back.’

The ex-MP accused the committee of ‘bias’ and likened it to a ‘kangaroo court’ in a furious 1,000-word exit statement after receiving a draft of its findings.

The panel, chaired by Labour MP but with a Conservative majority, found that one of his most senior officials in fact warned him against claiming social distancing guidelines were followed at the gatherings, the Times reported.

Meanwhile Rishi Sunak’s personally rating has slipped to the lowest of his premiership in terms of being the best person to lead the country, as he tries to hold a fractured Conservative Party together.

Mr Sunak is 10 points being Labour’s Keir Starmer in terms of who is seen as the better leader, after a brutal week in Westminster.

He was backed by just 33 per cent of those polled by Redfield and Wilton Strategies after Boris Johnson announced he was quitting Parliament and his controversial resignation honours list was published.

Sir Keir was on 43 per cent, and his personal approval rating has also risen by 4 per cent ahead of three key by-elections Labour needs to win to show they are on course for power at the next general election.

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