Labour council applied for exemption from ULEZ expansion

How Labour council applied for its own 400 vehicles to be exempt from London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s controversial ULEZ expansion

• A Labour council was accused of hypocrisy after asking for ULEZ exemption
• Hounslow council has supported Sadiq Khan’s plans to expand the zone 

A Labour council was accused of hypocrisy after backing Sadiq Khan’s controversial expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) – then asking for an exemption for its own 400 vehicles.

Hounslow council deputy leader Katherine Dunne wrote to the London mayor last summer raising concerns that it would not be able to make all its vehicles ULEZ compliant by the August 2023 deadline.

The council is one of 16 outer London boroughs that have supported the mayor’s plans to expand the zone, and already has 37 ULEZ cameras installed on its streets.

But failing to meet the compliance rules – which include facing a daily charge of £12.50 if driving within the specified area without meeting the emissions standards – would place further pressure on the authority’s budgets, Miss Dunne argued.

She said in the letter, obtained by The Daily Telegraph: ‘We have already invested in their replacement, yet supply chain challenges mean the earliest likely date for vehicle delivery is 2023-24.

A Labour council was accused of hypocrisy after backing Sadiq Khan’s controversial expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) – then asking for an exemption for its own 400 vehicles

Hounslow council deputy leader Katherine Dunne wrote to the London mayor (pictured) last summer raising concerns that it would not be able to make all its vehicles ULEZ compliant by the August 2023 deadline

Hounslow council (pictured) is one of 16 outer London boroughs that have supported the mayor’s plans to expand the zone, and already has 37 ULEZ cameras installed on its streets

‘If there are any further delays in the market and supply, there will be insufficient time to make the fleet compliant before the proposed August 2023 rollout.’

Miss Dunne added: ‘If no dispensation is provided, we will be subject to ULEZ penalties, putting further pressure on councils budgets.’

READ MORE: No 10 slaps down Sadiq Khan after London Mayor begged PM for yet more money to prop up hated ULEZ expansion 

 

It also called on the mayor to extend exemptions for school transport vehicles, and to give additional time to upgrade their fleets.

Conservative councillor Jack Emsley, who made the letter public, said: ‘It’s complete hypocrisy for Hounslow Council to back the ULEZ expansion for hard working families and businesses whilst simultaneously asking for an exemption for themselves.

‘It cannot be one rule for the Hounslow Labour party and another rule for the rest of us.’

In a statement to the Telegraph, Miss Dunne said the council was committed to its vehicles being compliant and was currently going through procurement to refresh its vehicle fleet.

She added: ‘During this period of transition alternative vehicle hires are being sourced until the delivery of the new vehicles.’

It follows Mr Khan facing staunch criticism recently over branding some ULEZ opponents as ‘far-right’ and ‘Covid deniers’.

During a heated People’s Question Time in Ealing, west London last week, he said: ‘Let’s be frank, let’s call a spade a spade… some of those outside are part of the far-Right, some are Covid deniers, some are vaccine deniers and some are Tories.’

It also emerged that the mayor has asked Transport for London to look into using ULEZ cameras to charge car users in a ‘pay-as-you-drive’ scheme in the capital.

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