Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion slammed as out of touch and will make poor families POORER- ‘Not everywhere is like Islington!’

Sadiq Khan has been criticised for his decision to expand the ULEZ zone to cover the whole of London.

Hundreds of thousands more drivers will face a daily fee of £12.50 for using London’s roads after the London mayor announced he will expand a pollution charge zone to boost air quality.

Khan said extending the ultra-low emission zone to cover the whole of the capital from August 29 next year is “one of the toughest decisions I’ve taken”.

The scheme, which operates at all times except Christmas Day, is currently limited to the area within the North and South Circular roads.

Transport for London (TfL) estimates that on an average day about 160,000 cars and 42,000 vans that use London’s roads would be liable for the £12.50 Ulez fee.

But transport officials believe that by the end of next year the expansion of the scheme will have encouraged tens of thousands of those drivers to switch to vehicles that comply with the minimum emissions standards or use other modes of getting around such as walking, cycling or public transport.

Speaking to GB News, Conservative Councillor for Ash and New Ash Green, Sevenoaks District Council, Claire Pearsall slammed the mayor’s decision.

Joining Martin Daubney and Ellie Costello on Breakfast, she said: “It's not just a London issue and this is highlighted very nicely by Gareth Bacon, who is the MP for Orpington, which is Greater London.

“He is highlighting the fact that Sadiq Khan's team are going to sell this as a tax on the wealthy and this is going to improve air quality.

“Gareth Bacon's argument is that it doesn't affect the wealthy. This actually affects the lowest income households. 50 per cent of outer-London households who earn around about £10,000 own a car. They tend to be older cars, but they are dependent upon them, and that increases up to 70% for those households earning £20,000.

“So these aren't your highest earners. These are people going around their everyday lives trying to get on. And if we look at all of the problems that we've had with strikes, you cannot get a train.

“I think what Sadiq Khan is failing to understand is that everywhere is not like Islington.”