Labour is under pressure to rule out expanding a Ulez-style emissions tax from London to other major cities in the United Kingdom if it wins the next election.
A policy document drafted by Sir Keir Starmer’s party supports the concept of clean air zones in major urban areas alongside the expansion of public transport.
London mayor Sadiq Khan is encountering a major battle over the Ultra Low Emission Zones scheme, which sees the worst polluting vehicles hit with a £12.50 day-to-day charge.
It presently only applies to cars, vans and lorries entering central London, but from August will be extended to include all London Boroughs.
Greg Hands, the Conservative Party chairman and MP for Chelsea and Fulham, told a newspaper outlet that Khan’s cash grab Ulez expansion was hugely disliked in London and that Labour needs to rule out those unpopular moves on hard-working residents of our great cities.
The document, first reported by the Labour List website, recommends Labour support the principle of Clean Air Zones, but added that they must be phased in carefully, and should be accompanied by a just transition plan.
They’re already in place in Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Greater Manchester, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside.
Tory candidates to run against Mr Khan in next year’s London mayoral election have promised to ditch the Ulez extension to outer boroughs, but Sir Keir Starmer last week backed the expansion, saying Londoners risk getting lung cancer without it.
So, we pay £12.50 a day to drive our vehicles. How is this cleaning up the air pollution? People still drive their over-polluted cars, therefore there is no clean up. Does paying our £12.50 a day suddenly make our vehicle a low-emission car? No, it doesn’t. It’s the same car with the same emissions, and the government are fleecing us.
There are also other ways to help the environment, grow more trees because trees produce oxygen, which is a substance that helps air pollution.
Air pollution doesn’t just come from vehicles on the road. Air pollution is produced by factories, but the government aren’t making them pay a daily charge.
The best thing would be to drive your car less. If you need to get to work, then you could always carpool, bike or bus it.
Keep your car in good repair. Fix that exhaust when it needs fixing. Check your tire pressure monthly, and turn off your engine when you can because an idling engine produces a hot spot of pollution.
Don’t burn your rubbish because burning your household rubbish is harmful to your health and the environment.
Switch to an electric lawn mower instead of using a petrol lawn mower because an hour of running a lawn mower can produce almost the same amount of pollution as a 100-mile car trip.
Try to use less energy and turn off electrical appliances you’re not using – it all adds up.
So, as you can see it’s not all about vehicles on the road, there are other things that can be done to lower pollution, but the government love to fleece us of all our hard-earned money.
But it’s all part of the Net Zero agenda. Governments want you to own nothing and be happy about it, and all governments and Members of Parliament are puppet-controlled politicos who are all on the same page.
They want the 99 per cent to live smaller, miserable lives while being socially credit scored via their smartphones, but remember folks it’s all for the greater good!
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 