Category Archives: ULEZ

Sadiq Khan Lied Over Emissions

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We all know Sadiq Khan is a consistent liar but a draft report from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) confirms exactly that.  A total of 578 people contacted the ASA to “challenge” TfL (Transport for London) to prove its claims about the impact of the ULEZ, which were broadcast and published between January and June this year. The advertising watchdog’s recommendations state that two complaints about two radio adverts and one in a newspaper should be upheld.

See https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/18/sadiq-khan-ulez-expansion-pollution-reduction-asa-report/

There is no doubt that the information published by TfL and Sadiq Khan prior to the public consultation on expansion of the ULEZ was grossly misleading. The health benefit from expansion of the ULEZ is negligible but the financial cost will be enormous. Costs of £2.7 billion over the last 5 years on TfL charges on motorists have already been incurred which will rise even higher in the next couple of years – see https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/11/18/london-drivers-pay-billions-charges-ulez-sadiq-khan/

It’s time we had a new London Mayor who is more financially competent and does not rely on motorists to bail TfL out from reckless mismanagement of public transport finances.  

Roger Lawson

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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Moving Pollution Up North

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I recently traded in my non-ULEZ compliant Jaguar XF for a petrol vehicle. I got a better trade-in price than I expected but it was not a total surprise because I figured that dealers would sell such vehicles in the North of England or Scotland. According to a report in the Telegraph (see link below), that is exactly what has been happening.

Sadiq Khan has just exported London’s air pollution to the rest of the country. Which I am sure they are grateful to receive – NOT. This is what happens when you have an idiot in charge in London who does not consider the unintended consequences of his actions.

Telegraph article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/10/22/londons-diesel-cars-being-sent-to-the-north-because-of-ulez/

Roger Lawson

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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Bromley Air Pollution, Vehicle Theft and Cars are good for your Health

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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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Rishi Sunak Backtracking on IC Car Ban and Petition to Sign

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The national media have reported that the Government may put back the date when new sales of oil/petrol cars are banned from 2030 to 2035. This is surely good news as it was never a rational policy and was potentially damaging to the motor vehicle production industry which is a significant contributor to UK GDP. But the motor industry is complaining about the lack of consistency which makes it difficult for them to plan ahead.  

Meanwhile Sadiq Khan has complained that large sums of money have been spent on twitter campaigns against his ULEZ expansion. He provides no evidence of this which I suggest is extremely unlikely. The campaigns are a grass-roots movement by people affected by the extension and in some cases impoverished.

It also affects many people who live outside London and who are not eligible for the scrappage scheme but need to drive into London for work or other reasons such as visiting hospitals. There is now a new Parliamentary petition which you should sign and which reads: “Give everyone within the Home Counties a vote for the London Mayor”.

It is certainly the case that there is no justice when there is taxation with no representation which is what is effectively happening with the ULEZ as the Mayor penalises people who live outside the borders of his jurisdiction (the GLA area).

Do sign the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/643187

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When Will Sadiq Khan Get His Comeuppance?

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Today (the 29th August 2023), the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has been extended to the whole of Greater London. This is unjustified on the scientific evidence of the miniscule benefit to air pollution and improved population health but it will cost many Londoners (and those who live in surrounding counties) dearly.

In practice it’s just another tax to support Sadiq Khan’s mismanagement of TfL’s budgets.

How did Sadiq Khan manage to obtain such dictatorial powers that he can impose such wide-ranging taxes without the consent of the people? He did so because central Government were asleep, or distracted by other political issues such as Brexit and a national pandemic.

But the tide is turning as people see how incompetent Khan has been at managing not just London’s transport network but in other areas also such as crime and housing. The only thing Khan has been good at is blaming central Government for his own failings and bribing the electorate with their own money – free transport and free school meals for example paid for out of taxes.

It could of course have been very different if the population had seen Sadiq Khan for what he is – a runt whose politics are all about building his ego and his stature by a relentless power grab.

But the tide is turning. Direct action to remove the ULEZ cameras or damage them is escalating while a serious challenge to Khan’s re-election next May is looming. Just as Ken Livingstone became so hated by his extreme policies that the call was to vote for “anyone but Ken” it will soon become “anyone but Khan”.

On a personal note I concluded that Sadiq Khan was not going to back down on the ULEZ expansion a few months back. He is clearly incapable of compromise and needs the money raised to pay for existing commitments. So I decided to change my ten-year old diesel Jaguar XF for a two year old petrol Jaguar XE. It’s very economical and is of course ULEZ compliant. Hopefully it will last me for many more years of low mileage motoring.

I am of course in the fortunate position of being able to afford to change my car every few years but many people are not. The scrappage scheme is simply a sop that will not significantly help them. Let us hope they remember that next May.

The economics of switching to an electric vehicle did not make sense just yet but it might do in a few years’ time. I am open-minded on the pros and cons of electric vehicles but the high capital cost and low resale values do not make them attractive as yet.

Roger Lawson Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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Sadiq Khan has announced some improvements to the ULEZ Scrappage Scheme.

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Presumably this is to try and pacify those who are criticising the ULEZ expansion to outer London. But the amount of money involved (£50 million) is nowhere near enough to enable those who qualify to buy a replacement new vehicle.

It’s also offered on a “first come, first served basis” and the pot will quickly run dry. In addition it only applies to those who live in London so the many tens of thousands of people who live in the home counties but commute into outer London will not qualify. This is what Mayoral candidate Susan Hall had this to say: “”This is too little, too late from Sadiq Khan, who is facing mounting pressure from Londoners and his own party. Thousands of families, small businesses and charities face financial ruin because of Sadiq Khan’s Ulez expansion, which will do next to nothing to improve air quality”. That’s spot on.

The only solution to this madness is to either replace the Mayor at the ballot box in May or for Government to remove his powers to act like a dictator, which he has been misusing. Repeat after me: “There is no air quality health crisis”. It’s just scaremongering by the Mayor to raise taxes to fix his financial mismanagement of TfL”.

Mayor’s Press Release: https://www.london.gov.uk/media-centre/mayors-press-release/MAYOR-ANNOUNCES-SCRAPPAGE-EXPANSION

On a personal note, I did not qualify for the original scrappage scheme even though I am disabled, hold a blue badge and live in London. That has not changed. Scrappage schemes are always severely limited and only enable you to buy a second-hand poor-quality vehicle.

Roger Lawson Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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Air Quality Reality Very Different to London Mayor’s Claims

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There was an interesting article just published by Shazad Sheikh on measuring air quality in London. He purchased an ELITech Air Monitoring device and used it on the streets of central London and in underground and train stations. The device measures particulates (PM 2.5 and PM10) which are known to be air pollutants that are the most hazardous to health and the results were most interesting – see his article here: https://browncarguy.com/2023/07/03/ulez-air-quality-test-pt-1-2/

It shows that in general the air quality on the streets is unlikely to be a major health hazard as Sadiq Khan claims but the contrary is true in stations.

Note that the device does not measure NOX gasses but these are unlikely to be a health hazard anyway despite what some people claim because they are easier to measure.

You can purchase one of these devices and test the local air quality in your own neighbourhood which I plan to do (Shazad provides a discount code you can use).

Meanwhile Sadiq Khan ignores the problem of very bad air pollution on London’s underground while wanting to penalise car drivers when they are not a significant problem. This is driven by money considerations of course. He can extract money from drivers with ULEZ schemes while cleaning up underground air quality would cost him money.

The Plan to Stop Driving in London

It is very clear that Sadiq Khan and his supporters in the environmental lobbyists are on a mission to stop all driving in London. This was made clear in a document entitled “Next steps for reducing emissions from road transport” published by TfL last year but not widely publicised – see https://content.tfl.gov.uk/next-steps-for-reducing-emissions-from-road-transport.pdf .

This is a call to stop all CO2 emissions from transport in the name of stopping climate change – an impossible task. The document tries to justify expansion of the ULEZ, charges on all vehicles other than zero emission ones and pay per mile charging on all vehicles. It’s an unscientific attack on the use of road transport in general. Read it and be horrified by what is planned!

Only removing Sadiq Khan and the current management of TfL will stop, this unjustified attempt to change our way of life.

Meanwhile the hearing in the High Court of the judicial review challenging the ULEZ expansion commences today (see  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66094244 ). It could be some weeks before a judgement is given and the outcome is uncertain.

Roger Lawson

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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Debates on Parliamentary Petitions re ULEZ/CAZ Schemes   

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This week in Parliament there were two Westminster Hall debates on parliamentary petitions that got enough public support to get debated. These covered these issues:

  • On Road User Charging Schemes, revoke local government powers to charge CAZ, LEZ, and ULEZ.
  • Amend the 1999 GLA Act to remove the [London] Mayor’s power to impose road use charges”.

Although Labour MPs apparently mostly chose not attend, so avoiding any embarrassment no doubt in having to support unpopular policies, there were useful contributions from Conservative MPs.

    It’s easier to follow what was said by reading the Hansard extract which is here: https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-06-26/debates/077638E8-599B-45E5-BB61-7BBDF9DA6073/RoadUserChargingSchemes

    Gareth Bacon, MP for Orpington in South East London made several good points. He said his constituents quite rightly saw the ULEZ as a “tax-grabbing scheme to fill the holes in Transport for London’s finances”. He pointed out that the public consultation was manipulated by the Mayor and hundreds of cameras were ordered even before the consultation was launched.

    It’s well worth reading what was said in the debate which highlighted the costs being imposed on many people who live in outer London when the impact on air pollution will be negligible.

    Roger Lawson

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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    ULEZ is a Money Making Scheme

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    Expanding the ULEZ scheme in London is not about improving health or the environment, it’s about generating cash for the Mayor. This was reinforced by an article published by the BBC today which reports that the  Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) generated more than £224m last year. That will increase substantially from August 29th when the ULEZ is expanded.

    Data obtained by the BBC has found that roughly a third of the money came from penalty charge notices (PCNs), with the rest from daily charge payments. Transport for London (TfL) says the money is used to cover “set-up costs” for the ULEZ expansion and “running and improving” the rest of the network.

    Through data obtained via a freedom of information request, the BBC has found ULEZ generated £224,633,003 in 2022, an average of £18.7m a month. Money came in through two streams: daily charges and PCNs.

    It emphasises the importance of registering for the Autopay system to ensure you don’t forget to pay (see https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/auto-pay ) which generally works well even if you live outside London and only visit occasionally.

    Sadiq Khan may get kicked out of office, lose the judicial review going through the courts or have his cameras destroyed by vigilantes opposed to the scheme but no need to rely on that happening in the short-term.  

    BBC Article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-65778065

    Roger Lawson

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

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    Judicial Review Against ULEZ Case Progresses

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    The judicial review against the ULEZ expansion pursued by Ed Gregory is making progress and an update on the latest position is given on the link below.

    https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stop-ulez-expansion/?utm_source=backer_social&utm_campaign=stop-ulez-expansion&utm_reference=57cdb188918b3bbf08977f63f04882cd&utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_content=post_pledge_page

    It is very difficult to see how the way the Mayor misled people can be adjudged to be a fair public consultation. But Sadiq Khan is clearly putting a lot of effort into persuading people that the expansion is necessary on public health grounds when it is not.

    Please support this legal case.

    Roger Lawson

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