This article was published by The Energy Mix on May 8, 2024.
By Gaye Taylor
As re-elected London mayor Sadiq Khan vows to make the United Kingdom capital a global climate leader, a strong showing by Greens and Labour politicians suggest most Londoners are onboard.
After “comfortably” winning a historic third term of office, Khan is vowing to pursue a serious environmental agenda, including more EV chargers and cleaning up the Thames River, while tackling the other issues that matter to Londoners: rising living costs, affordable housing, and street crime. “My determination to ensure London leads from the front with world-leading climate action remains as strong as ever,” he said.
The incumbent mayor increased his vote share over his 2021 victory and even gaining support in outer boroughs despite recently including them in a road toll for polluting vehicles.
The toll applies within the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which Khan introduced in 2019 to tackle air pollution. It assesses a daily charge of £12.50 (C$21.45) on any vehicle in the zone that does not meet emission standards. While the ULEZ initially covered only Central London, Khan extended it last August to cover all 32 of Greater London’s boroughs.
His conservative opponent Susan Hall, who secured 32.7 per cent of the vote compared to Khan’s 43.8 per cent, sought to exploit opposition to the ULEZ expansion, writes Bloomberg. “Londoners were blanketed with leaflets issued on her behalf accusing Khan of planning to introduce a pay-per-mile charging program for vehicles, which the mayor repeatedly denied.” Alleging that Khan was pursuing a “war on motorists,” Hall warned voters of a “woke” agenda that would divert resources from tackling street crime.
Khan ruled out pursuing the “pay-per-mile” scheme, but said he has London’s transport governing body looking into a mechanism to simplify the ULEZ charge, a separate congestion charge initiated in 2003, and tolls at crucial transportation arteries, with a single charge linked to miles driven, among other factors.
Hall’s efforts did bear some fruit, with the Conservative candidate performing better in areas that have been most affected by ULEZ expansion, writes Bloomberg. But overall, many Conservative politicians across the UK faced heavy losses. That result, plus the corresponding wins for Labour and Green councillors, indicate that public support for climate action in the UK is “as robust as ever”, reports Business Green. Confirming the mood, an Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit poll found that nearly 70 per cent of all Britons back the UK government’s net-zero by 2050 goal.
“It’s becoming clear that [Prime Minister Rishi] Sunak’s climate rollbacks and reckless push for more oil drilling have done less than nothing for his chances of re-election,” Mel Evans, head of climate at Greenpeace UK, told Business Green, as election results began to roll in. “Opposition parties with stronger climate policies are on track to make significant gains, and the rare bright spot for the Conservatives has come from the re-election of the Tees Valley mayor, who has been a vocal supporter of climate action and green jobs.”
“The overwhelming majority of the British public backs climate action and those political leaders who can seize the economic opportunity of the century and bring its many benefits to their communities,” Evans added, citing the recent vote as a measure of the popularity of UK’s dominating political parties—the ruling Conservatives and Labour.
The local election results “will bolster expectations for a Labour Party victory in a general election later this year,” Bloomberg reports.
Be the first to comment