Londoners 'trained' to support Ulez, says Sadiq Khan

Sadiq Khan said he faced hostility «from a loud minority drowning out the silent majority» at Ulez. Photo: Elliot Franks

Londoners have been 'trained' to support air pollution policies like Ulez, suggested Sadiq Khan.

The mayor spokeat an event in New YORKOn Sunday he said he had “permission” to pursue bold policies after telling Londoners about the consequences of air pollution.

He is in New York for the UN Climate Ambition Summit on Wednesday.

His comments come three weeks after the expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez). to cover all of London.

Mr Khan said he had faced hostility «from the loud minority drowning out the silent majority» over Ulez, adding it was important to «take people with us» on climate change politics.

“We spent some time in London educating people about the effects of air pollution associated with climate change,” he said. «Once they realized this was not just an environmental crisis but also a health crisis, we were given permission to pursue bold policies.

Expanding ULEZ in London

Susan Hall, Conservative mayoral candidate, said: «Londoners are already well aware of the effects of air pollution, but they are equally clear that expanding it does little to help Ulez.»

«That's why the vast majority of Londoners oppose his tax grab, which takes money away from those who can least afford it.»

Recent polls have shown Mr Khan's popularity has fallen since Ulez's expansion, and now he is just one of them. is a percentage point ahead of Ms. Hall in the mayoral race. She promised to abandon the Ulez expansion «on day one» if she wins.

The mayor of London also said that politicians should be «better storytellers», adding: «If we do something wrong, if our policies are unpopular, we will be voted out.»

Ahead of his visit to New York, Mr. Mr Khan said he was «determined that London will continue to lead the world in tackling the twin threats of air pollution and the climate emergency so that we can deliver a brighter future.»

The spokesman as Mr Khan said: “The Mayor has made it clear that the decision to expand Ulez across London was not an easy one, but a necessary one to tackle toxic air pollution.”

“Around 4,000 Londoners die prematurely every year. due to air pollution. Children are growing up with delayed lung development, and thousands of people in our community are developing life-changing illnesses such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma.

“We know Ulez works because we already enables more than four million people to breathe cleaner air in inner London, and harmful levels of nitrogen dioxide in central London have been cut by almost half.»