Sadiq Khan has lashed out at his political opponents, accusing them of spreading ‘lies’ about the capital’s ULEZ and the prospect of a ‘pay per mile’ scheme. The Mayor of London promised at the weekend that he would not be introducing a scheme that would charge drivers according to when and when they drove in the city or tightening ULEZ emission standards.
It came after his Conservative opponents have claimed that, despite Mr Khan repeatedly ruling out the introduction of a pay per mile model during his mayoralty, that 157 staff are ‘now working solely on the scheme’, known as ‘Project Detroit’.
The mayor told MyLondon yesterday (Monday, March 25): “I’ve been made aware of lots of lies and misinformation being told by the Conservatives and some Londoners are believing that. So I was quite clear in my mind that we’ve got to let Londoners know where I stand, rather than inadvertently believing the lies and misinformation from the Tories.
READ MORE: Sadiq Khan has ‘no plans’ if he loses London Mayor election despite ‘real prospect’ of Tory win
“So I’ve written to the [TfL] commissioner to make it quite clear – it’s there in black and white – that as long as I’m mayor, not only would there be no increase in the ULEZ charge […] no changes in relation to what the current rules are in relation to Euro 6 and Euro 4, but also no pay per mile.” He added that Londoners should be ‘reassured’ of these pledges.
Tories say mayor ‘cannot be taken at his word’
Tory London Assembly member, Neil Garratt, said earlier this month: “Sadiq Khan emphatically ruled out an expansion of ULEZ into Outer London – then did it anyway – so we simply cannot afford to take him at his word on his future plans.”
Mr Khan previously told MyLondon that simplifying the current system comprised of many fees, with two others being added in the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels next year, is an ‘attractive prize’. But, he added that the technology necessary to make this a reality is not available.
It is understood that TfL is currently undertaking wider work to bring in-house the outsourced system for existing driver charging schemes – such as the ULEZ, LEZ and Congestion Charge – for which the contract expires in 2026. But pay per mile charging is ‘not being developed’ as part of this work.
In response to Mr Khan’s claims, a Conservative source said: “He also said he wouldn’t expand ULEZ and then he did.” They also said that the mayor had ‘invested 150 million into pay per mile’.
The Green Party’s candidate for the capital’s mayoralty, Zoë Garbett, has said she would consult on introducing a ‘smarter, fairer road charging system’ for drivers. The proposed scheme would charge vehicles based on ‘distances driven, vehicle emissions, time of day and location’.
Read our full sit down interview with Sadiq Khan ahead of the London mayoral election on May 2 here. Read our chat with Susan Hall, his Conservative rival, here.
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Shyam Batra, independent
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Count Binface, independent
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Rob Blackie, Liberal Democrats
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Natalie Campbell, independent
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Howard Cox, Reform UK
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Amy Gallagher, SDP
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Zoe Garbett, Green Party
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Tarun Ghulati, independent
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Susan Hall, Conservative
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Sadiq Khan, Labour
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Andreas Michli, independent
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Brian Rose, London Real
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