 ? That is the question hanging over the Labour Party's divisions on the issue. Certainly until the last few weeks there was almost no public indication that the Labour leader was a critic of the policy pursued by one of his most prominent regional mayors. But then came the surprise failure to take Boris Johnson's old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip 10 days ago with voters appearing to raise two fingers at Ulez. And so followed a period of public distancing by Labour's most senior MPs from London mayor Sadiq Khan's proposal to expand the area to cover all of the capital's boroughs. Sir Keir's words carefully selected Yet, on close inspection, Sir Keir's words were carefully selected. The day after the Tories held on in Uxbridge, the Labour leader said he would 'reflect' on the message from voters. It is an 'all things to all people' word, 'reflect', with critics able to see in it a hardening of rhetoric but also one which came with no specifics about what Sir Keir wanted to happen. On Monday, after Sir Keir had the weekend to 'reflect' and come up with a clearer position, little new light was shed in an appearance on a BBC Radio 5 Live phone-in. 'We can't pretend that this is a simple political decision that you can say 'yes' or 'no' to, and have no regard to the legal content,' the Labour leader told listeners on the subject. Instead focus has been put on whether a scrappage scheme that gives grants to help people replace polluting cars – the ones that trigger the £12.50 daily charge when in Ulez – could be more generous. Shadow cabinet ministers have claimed that Sir Keir opposes the expansion – Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, did so on Friday – but the public quotes do not back that up. A headache to be navigated, not stopped It seems Labour headquarters appears to be viewing the Ulez quandary as a political headache to be navigated before it comes int){kind=link}
The Labour leader knows that going all out to stop Ulez would damage the fragile Labour coalition on climate matters
Does Sir Keir Starmer really want to stop the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez)? That is the question hanging over the Labour Party’s divisions on the issue.
Certainly until the last few weeks there was almost no public indication that the Labour leader was a critic of the policy pursued by one of his most prominent regional mayors.
But then came the surprise failure to take Boris Johnson’s old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip 10 days ago with voters appearing to raise two fingers at Ulez.
And so followed a period of public distancing by Labour’s most senior MPs from London mayor Sadiq Khan’s proposal to expand the area to cover all of the capital’s boroughs.