London is, politically speaking, a tale of two cities. On mayoral election night, the outer boroughs are true Conservative blue while the inner boroughs are a sea of Labour red. That was enough to twice deliver the keys to City Hall to Sadiq Khan, but the divide stores up political difficulties for any seeking to govern the city as one.
This has been brought to the fore by Khan’s plan to extend the Ultra-low emission zone to the Greater London boundary. At present, the £12.50-a-day charge for older polluting cars covers only the area inside the North and South Circulars. But the Mayor is now facing a legal challenge by outer London boroughs, which could thwart his plans. Conservative objections are based on the cost to lower income Londoners who are unable to replace their vehicle to avoid the charge, which affects one in 20 car drivers. London Tories also point to City Hall data which suggests the impact of Ulez expansion to reduce particulate levels and nitrogen emissions in outer boroughs such as Sutton and Croydon would be limited.
