Rishi Sunak has hinted that the fight against the ultra-low emissions zone will be an instrumental part of the Conservative’s election campaign in the capital.
The Prime Minister said the Tories should not stop the crusade against the expansion of the clean air zone to the outer London boroughs.
Five Conservative-run councils cleared the first hurdle of their legal fight against the widening of Mayor Sadiq Khan's Ulez on Wednesday.
High Court judge Sir Ross Cranston ruled that an application from Bexley, Bromley, Harrow, Hillingdon and Surrey Councils for a judicial review into scheme should proceed to a full hearing in July.
On Thursday, Mr Sunak said it was an "interesting and positive development on the legal side" and a "hard won success" for London Tory MPs and councillors.
He added that the party would "keep campaigning on this issue" because it could make an "actual difference" at an election.
Mr Sunak pointed to the Tories last year winning a council seat in Cambridge that they had not held in almost two decades following a by-election campaign against road charging in the area.
Speaking at a ConservativeHome event on Thursday, he said: "We've seen that this can actually make a difference. In Cambridgeshire, actually, we won a by-election recently in Longstanton and a big part of the pitch was about congestion charging and these types of things in Cambridge.
“And it was a very effective campaign that meant that we could pick up a seat for the first time in years.
"So tribute to our hard working councillors and other activists who are highlighting these issues and the damage that they do."
The results of the YouGov survey earlier this month mark Labour’s biggest lead over the Tories in London since the polling company started tracking the city’s voting intentions in 2010.
However, Tory election chiefs claim the Labour Mayor “has a problem” in a number of suburban boroughs and believe opposition to the Ulez give them the best chance to win back City Hall.
Allies of Mr Khan said he would be “proudly” campaigning on his record of having helped clean up the capital’s air and he on Thursday he vowed to press ahead with the Ulez expansion.
City Hall made clear that it would “continue with preparations without delay” to expand the £12.50-a-day charge boundary on August 29.
Mr Khan said: “Following yesterday’s ruling, Ulez expansion remains on track. I’m pleased that the judge refused permission on the majority of grounds, and we’re confident that millions more people will be breathing cleaner air in outer London when the scheme is rolled out in August."
“The decision to expand Ulez was a difficult one, but it’s necessary to protect the health of Londoners and tackle the climate crisis.”
