My Lords, I support my noble friend’s Amendment 282N. In opening, I remind the House that I am the leader of the London Borough of Bexley and am therefore involved in both London Councils and the Local Government Association—although I have not quite made the dizzying heights of being a VP of the Local Government Association, like many Members of this Chamber.
It is important to point out at the outset that I firmly believe in improving air quality, having seen the benefits of improved air quality myself. My parents used to live in Lewisham, and my father suffered from chest problems for years, but that all changed when he moved to Bexley—and not just because it has a good council. As council leader, I am proud to report that,
in Bexley, we have good air quality, below the legal limits, and we are always looking at ways to improve that air quality. But we fundamentally believe that the expansion of ULEZ to outer-London, and the way it has been done, is undemocratic.
If this amendment had been in place before, the mayor would not have been able to ignore local views, to fail to engage constructively with the boroughs or to have brought it forward in such a quick way that has had a disastrous impact on many of our residents. He also would not have contradicted the statement he made two years ago that he was not going to expand ULEZ. This amendment highlights a way to protect democracy for those in London going forward.
Local councils understand their locations and their residents—I know many Members here have connections. Bexley, like most other outer-London boroughs, is very different from central or inner-London. That is why my borough, like others, has campaigned against the Mayor of London’s insistence on extending ULEZ to the borders of London. We are very conscious of the need to continually look to improve air quality locally, and we take measures to do so, but our lack of transport connectivity—we are one of the few London boroughs without the Tube—makes us heavily reliant on the car. Many of our small businesses and trades men and women depend on vans. Many invested in the diesel vehicles they were told a decade ago were greener and cleaner but now face the ULEZ charge.
One of those measures is lobbying to improve public transport. You would hope that, when the opportunity arises, the mayor and TfL would seek to help, but in neither of the recent proposals for the Superloop or the DLR extension to Thamesmead did they even identify the need to improve the transport infrastructure in our part of the borough.
We have some of the poorest wards in London, and the residents in those wards are more likely to be those with non-compliant cars. Those cars are vitally important to allow residents to fulfil their employment, as well as look after their families. Cars, some on finance arrangements, have become worthless overnight. I have heard of many people taking out loans to replace them, the scrappage scheme not being relevant, or indeed having to revert to leasing rather than owning a car to allow them to get about.
In common with other outer-London boroughs, we also have a high number of older residents, and their cars give them independence to visit their family and friends, get their weekly shopping and attend medical appointments, among other things. How often do we all hear about people buying their last car? In the last few months, the communications I have received have included some revolving around people having to draw down their life savings to replace a car they had no intention of replacing.
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The mayor’s expansion of ULEZ through outer London will impose fines on those who can least afford it. The stress of the imposition of this extension has not been good for the mental well-being of those who have been done unto. This is heartbreaking and devastating to so many people. Families have been
split, unable to see each other; people are having to change jobs, including those unable to provide key front-line services because of the costs imposed by the mayor.
People are facing hardship and distress. When they voice their concerns, Mayor Khan, and his small band of allies, seek to insult and smear them, accusing them of being climate change deniers, Covid vaccine conspiracy theorists or the far right.
That brings me to the number of people being implicated—or the accuracy of the data that the mayor and TfL have been using. They said that nine out of 10 cars in the extended zone would be compliant. However, when challenged by organisations such as the AA and RAC, which obtained information from the DVLA under FoI, that number became known to be about 700,000 cars, and how the qualification of the nine out of 10 cars was collated became something of a farce. Likewise, I am sure noble Lords have all read the stories about Imperial College or a professor writing an article for the Lancet being asked to change their narrative as it did not support the extension.
Of course, there will be people who will not be able to change their vehicle. I am afraid that the mayor lives in a very different world from the one I live in if he thinks that £2,000 will buy a compliant car. That will include the key workers and tradesmen we are all dependent on. Is he not aware that in many instances, the cost of his fines will be passed on to others, thereby pushing up the prices of vital services or, indeed, will mean people choosing not to work in London? Likewise, we hear of the implications for voluntary organisations and charities, which are so important to our residents.
We are firm believers in democracy in Bexley. We put a manifesto before our electorate at every election, transposing it into our plans to ensure that we deliver the promises made, and we seek to represent our residents. Last May our manifesto included a commitment to oppose the ULEZ extension, and when we were re-elected, we started work to do what we said. That opposition from our residents and businesses was then repeated in the mayor’s own consultation—but, unlike us, he chose to ignore that message.
That is why this amendment is so important. Local councils understand the needs of their residents; we live the same lives as them, rather than being chauffeured around like the mayor—and, unlike the mayor, we believe in democracy. I support the amendment.