Four in 10 Londoners are considering leaving the capital to escape toxic air pollution.
That’s according to research by air-quality intelligence company Enjoy the Air, who surveyed more than 4,000 British adults. The results found more people in London than any other region would move in search of clean air.
It follows a recent study finding that air in every London borough breaches World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines on the toxic pollutant nitrogen dioxide.
“Air pollution continues to blight our city and cost lives,” today’s Standard View states in support of extending the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez). “We understand the opposition some feel over the Ulez expansion, and share the frustration that the Government and City Hall will not provide more funds for the vehicle scrappage scheme.
“But ridding our city of toxic air is the task of this generation of political leaders, and cannot be delayed. Because, once we can all enjoy clean air, future Londoners will wonder how we ever lived without it.”
Would you leave London in search of cleaner air? Let us know in the comments or on our Instagram for your chance to be featured on the Evening Standard website.
Yesterday we asked: Should Labour drop their pledge to end university tuition fees?
It needs to be means tested, without the loopholes for the Reese Mogg’s et als….realistically.
— Linda Wilkinson (@LindaSWilkinson) May 2, 2023
On Facebook, Dane Raworth saw bigger priorities to fund: “With over 2m students in the UK I hate to imagine the cost. People can’t afford to heat their home or feed their families. Schools, policing and the justice system, let alone the NHS are on their knees. There’s bigger issues to deal with first”.
Instagram user gary.templar didn’t see the value: “Yes, if these leftie wasters want to go to university to study for a degree that’s worth nothing in real life make them pay”.
But others saw the importance. stormintormod commented: “Disgraceful. No other country in Europe charges the outrageous fees England does. Most western European countries don’t charge a penny, the others just a peppercorn amount.”
danielwilliams.music said: “Best investment you can make in the future. But, universities need to reform and become places of learning again. Less of this social justice cobblers. Teach people things they don’t know. Simple.”
For Labour to bring in fees was an enormous betrayal, saddling generations of debt. Worse, all these Labour politicians enjoyed private schools and Oxbridge but seek to deny everyone else the same opportunities.
— DRMax. Better society now for disabled. (@BurnheadMax) May 2, 2023
