The Conservatives have pledged to scrap the controversial expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London if they stay in power after the general election.
In its latest campaign announcement, the party said reversing the policy of London mayor Sadiq Khan would form part of a new “backing drivers bill” that would stop the “war” their rivals had “launched” on motorists.
The legislation would also order local referendums before any new road schemes were brought in across the country and allow residents to challenge existing “aggressive and punitive traffic-inducing measures” – like Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) and 20mph zones.
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the move showed the Tories were “on the side of drivers” and wanted to give them “the freedom they need to build a secure future for themselves and their children”.
But a spokesperson for Mr Khan said: “‘This is desperate stuff from the Tories – a party completely devoid of ideas.”
The ULEZ scheme – first proposed by then Tory mayor Boris Johnson in 2015 and extended by Mr Khan last year – sees heavier polluting vehicles charged a fee of £12.50 a day for driving on the city’s roads in an attempt to improve air quality.
But when Mr Khan expanded ULEZ across the whole of Greater London in 2023, it caused a rift within his own party, and saw the Conservatives seize on the political opportunity.
Its opposition to the scheme helped them narrowly keep hold of Uxbridge and South Ruislip in a by-election after Mr Johnson quit parliament.
However, despite it being their London mayoral candidate’s…
