Sadiq Khan accused of ignoring 5,000 votes opposing ULEZ expansion

2023-01-17

Sadiq Khan is accused of ignoring more than 5,000 votes from motoring groups opposing his controversial ULEZ expansion

Mayor Sadiq Khan approved expansion to London’s Ultra-low emission zone
He approved scheme despite 59.4 per cent of respondents opposing it
5,273 votes from motoring groups – equivalent to one in ten responses- ignored
If included, the level of opposition would have risen to 62.4 per cent

Sadiq Khan was accused kicking out more than 5,000 votes opposing his controversial expansion to London’s Ultra-low emission zone.

The London Mayor approved the scheme in November, despite 59.4 per cent of respondents opposing it.

It has now emerged 5,273 votes from motoring groups – equivalent to one in ten responses – were ignored by officials.

If included, the level of opposition would have risen to 62.4 per cent – nearly two-thirds.

Sadiq Khan was accused kicking out more than 5,000 votes opposing his controversial expansion to London’s Ultra-low emission zone

When the idea was floated in May last year, Mr Khan pledged the Ulez expansion across Greater London would not proceed if there was ‘overwhelming’ opposition.

The £12.50 per vehicle scheme is costing motorists in the capital an additional £385,000 a day in charges, according to the RAC.

Howard Cox, head of FairfuelUK, told the Daily Telegraph the exclusion of his organisation’s votes was ‘not only contemptible but also possibly unlawful’.

‘[Khan] must be subject to an immediate independent public enquiry as to his immoral behaviour in the way he has implemented the Ulez expansion,’ he said.

‘He deceitfully and consciously excluded 5,000 supporters of FairfuelUK and their legitimate responses to the Ulez consultation because they objected.’

Minister for London Paul Scully MP said the situation was ‘very concerning’ and demanded the London Assembly ‘investigate this further’.

When the idea was floated in May last year, Mr Khan pledged the Ulez expansion across Greater London would not proceed if there was ‘overwhelming’ opposition

Peter Fortune, deputy leader of the Greater London Authority Conservatives, said the revelation revealed Mr Khan’s ‘contempt for the rules, his failure to follow due process and his disregard for the people’.

Nick Rogers, the Conservative assembly member for South West London, has lodged an official complaint with the GLA monitoring office for ‘multiple serious breaches of the code of conduct and the principles of public life’.

Last week it emerged Sutton Liberal Democrats, who control the outer London borough, had vowed to block the installation of cameras needed to enforce Ulez.

Four other boroughs said they were considering legal action over the lawfulness of the decision to proceed.

A total of 47,502 responses were declared in the published result of the public consultation – 27,237 against, 18,733 for, and 532 ‘don’t knows’.

But emails between City Hall officials obtained under Freedom of Information rules showed thousands of votes were excluded on the basis they were ‘copy and paste’ responses ‘where the same blanket statement is sent to us by email or post’.

A spokesman for the Mayor said: ‘The Mayor made the decision after considering Transport for London’s full report on the consultation responses and a number of modifications were made to the scheme, based on feedback received in the consultation.

‘TfL takes its responsibility to run robust and legally compliant consultations extremely seriously and any suggestion that TfL or the Mayor has sought to influence the results of the Ulez consultation is simply untrue.’

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