Sadiq Khan should quit as Mayor of London over ULEZ expansion, readers say

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is facing pressure from Express.co.uk readers to resign over his controversial expansion of the capital’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) next month, a new poll has shown. The ULEZ is due to cover all boroughs of the capital city from August 29 in an effort to improve air quality for those living in outer London, with non-compliant vehicles charged a daily fee of £12.50 to drive in the area. The ULEZ expansion was blamed for Labour’s failure to claim Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in the by-election last week . The Tories retained the seat with Steve Tuckwell closely beating Labour’s Danny Beales. Winner Mr Tuckwell said: ‘My campaign has been incredibly single-minded and it’s really been in complete opposition to ULEZ from the outset. That’s not me saying that, it’s not me that called the referendum on ULEZ. It is the people of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.’ Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner told BBC Breakfast after the defeat that ULEZ contributed to the loss, saying: ‘People are really concerned about how, during a cost-of-living crisis, they’re going to be imposed with a ULEZ charge that they can’t afford.’ Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer agreed and said that the policy was the ‘reason why we didn’t win’. He added: ‘We’ve all got to reflect on that, including the Mayor.’ A staggering 97 percent of readers think Sadiq Khan should resign over the ULEZ expansion (Image: Getty) In response, Express.co.uk ran a poll from 1.30pm on Friday, July 21, to 5pm on Tuesday, July 25, asking readers: ‘Should Sadiq Khan resign over ULEZ?’ Overall, 1,815 votes were cast with a staggering 97 percent (1,755 people) answering ‘yes’ he should resign, compared with three percent (52 people) who said ‘no’ he should not. A further eight people said they did not know. Dozens of comments were left below the accompanying article as readers discussed Mr Khan’s future. Many oppose the expansion of the ULEZ (Image: Getty) The majority of readers argued that Mr Khan should step down as the Mayor of London over his green road policy, with username ZinQ commenting: ‘He should have gone a long time ago.’ Username smarter1 agreed, writing: ‘Should have gone years ago, caused untold damage.’ And username zebraman added: ‘Yes, he needs to resign but he won’t.’ While other readers thought that he should be fired from his position over ULEZ. Username Ricky1954 said: ‘Sadiq Khan should be sacked for what he has done to London. Asking him to resign is way too polite.’ Username nameless agreed: ‘No he should be fired!’ The ULEZ is due to cover all boroughs of the capital city from August 29 (Image: EXPRESS.CO.UK) The ULEZ in central London was originally conceived by Mr Johnson during his time as Mayor. Mr Khan continues to support the expansion, telling Sky News on Friday: ‘It was a difficult decision to take. But just like nobody would accept drinking dirty water, why accept dirty air.’ Mr Khan took office in 2016 and is set to run for a third term when Londoners head to the polls in May 2024. If successful he will become the first London Mayor to serve three terms. The Labour mayor said when he was chosen as the Party’s candidate: ‘There’s still so much more to do.’