Latest quote for the Press from the Leader of Bromley Council as posted on Facebook:

Councillor Colin Smith, Leader of Bromley Council said, “I am frankly beginning to feel slightly embarrassed for the Mayor and his desperately repeated claims that Bromley residents are suffering from a higher mortality of premature deaths than any other Borough in the Capital.

“He appears to believe that if you repeat something often enough, it makes it come true. I have to tell you that whilst that might work for him in the very strange world of City Hall, it doesn’t work out here in the real world.

“It really is complete nonsense.”

Councillor Smith continued, “Factually, Bromley is a very healthy borough with a low overall mortality rate.  The fraction of mortality attributable to air pollution in Bromley is actually the 3rd lowest in London.

“Apart from the figures being used actually being guesstimates, based on research commissioned by the Mayors own Team, the researchers chose to ignore Bromley’s much older population profile, to take no account of the fact that many elderly Bromley residents spent the younger years of their lives living in Inner London Boroughs experiencing the smogs and smoke filled pubs and clubs of yesteryear there, where any damage which might have been caused to their lungs would have occurred, or the fact that many elderly folks from out of Borough are drawn to Bromley’s multitude of excellent care homes to be closer to their loved ones for their final years either.

“In summary, Bromley enjoys the second cleanest air in London, very marginally behind Havering. We also have cleaner air than every single Borough already ensnared within the Mayor’s existing ULEZ scheme and even his own scientific projections confirm that extending the ULEZ further out would only add the most marginal of benefits.

“Londoners should remain in no doubt that this is what it looks like. A cynical Tax Raid aimed at the outer London suburbs which front runs the Mayor’s unspoken intention to introduce Road Price Charging for everyone once the camera network has been set in place, very much including families and businesses who have already converted to a Green or Hybrid vehicle.”

Comment: A good summary of the facts re air pollution in outer London boroughs and the lies spouted by Sadiq Khan and TfL.

Attacks on ULEZ enforcement cameras continue although TfL don’t seem to be issuing fines for non-compliant vehicles as yet. Mayoral Reform Party candidate Howard Cox has promised to refund all fines if he gets elected next May. That would be likely to make TfL even more bankrupt than it already is which might make for some difficult decisions.

Other news is that the BrownCarGuy has reported that 17,000 drivers are still paying car tax (VED) on cars that have been stolen. The recovery rate on stolen cars has been falling while thefts have been rising as keyless systems are now very vulnerable. See https://browncarguy.com/2023/10/16/car-owners-paying-tax-on-stolen-cars/#more-18242

Shahzad Sheikh also reported that a Japanese university has established a link between good health in older adults and car ownership: “The latest research from Japan’s Waseda University confirms what we’ve all suspected. Cars are good for your health, especially if you’re elderly! Car ownership for older adults was associated with higher self-rated health status, greater number of years lived in the current municipality, and better working status”. See the full report here https://www.waseda.jp/top/en/news/78563

The moral is: keep driving as long as you can and maintain mobility.

Roger Lawson

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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