Angry drivers threaten to ‘kick Sadiq Khan out of office’ over new ULEZ car tax
Christopher Hope says Tories will not challenge ULEZ expansion
Angry drivers frustrated with Sadiq Khan’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) could gang up to kick him out of office at next year’s Mayoral election, according to a former UKIP GLA member.
David Kurten, now representing the Heritage Party, has suggested the new car tax fees could encourage people who don’t usually vote to make it to a polling booth.
The new ULEZ expansion has been criticised by Londoners who may need to cough up a staggering £87.50 per week or £375 per month if they use their vehicles on a daily basis
The proposals will see fees extended as far as Harrow and Bromley by the end of this month in a major blow to locals.
ULEZ has since become a major political issue with Labour missing out on Boris Johnson’s former seat in Uxbridge after local Tories successfully turned it into a one issue election.
READ MORE Sadiq Khan pleads with Tory councils refusing to put up ULEZ warning signs
Kurten told Express.co.uk: “It’s going to be a massive issue in Outer London. It may not be such an issue in Inner London. But it is going to be very interesting.
“Obviously, Uxbridge and South Ruislip is Outer London. So Labour expected to win and they didn’t and that is indicative of what might happen in the Mayoral elections in Outer London.”
He added: “The turnout is going to be interesting because I think last time the turnout was low. It was [less than] 45 percent.
“This time it really depends on, are the Tory voters in Outer London going to come out and vote to get Sadiq Khan out? Because if that happens en-masse – say you get half a million Tory voters who vote sometimes but maybe sometimes they don’t – those people who normally are a bit apathetic, if they get really motivated and say ‘I don’t want the ULEZ, I’m going to vote for whoever has got the best chance of kicking out Sadiq Khan’, then yeah that is going to help Susan Hall.”
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Hall, the Conservative’s Mayoral candidate, has pledged to scrap the motoring charge on day one if she wins next year.
A consultation on the new proposals showed the system was unpopular with 59 percent of locals against a new expansion.
Meanwhile, activists have led campaigns against the new fees with protests held outside Downing Street last week.
Despite this, opinion polls still have Khan as a clear favourite with Survation putting the 52-year-old 12 points clear of the Tories.
However, at the last Mayoral election in 2021 just 42.2 percent of residents cast their ballot.
Khan was just five percent ahead of Conservative Shaun Bailey in the first round and a new system means it wouldn’t take much to get a fresh face in City Hall.
Kurten added: “The voting system is different this time, they’ve changed it now. It’s first past the post rather than first round and second round. That is going to affect the results… Last year the first round was really close, much much closer than people expected. Shaun Bailey got more votes for the Conservatives than people expected.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “Nine out of ten cars seen driving in outer London on an average day are already ULEZ compliant and their drivers will not have to pay the charge.
“For drivers of the most polluting vehicles, Sadiq has announced TfL is making major changes to the scrappage scheme from next Monday, to make every Londoner with a non-compliant car eligible for a £2,000 grant to replace their car- as well as doubling the grants for wheelchair accessible vehicles to £10,000 and increasing the scrappage payments and retrofit grants for vans.”
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