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.
While it is true that the bulk of the benefits of Ulez can be attributed to the original central zone, there are plenty of good reasons for the extension. Pollution remains an urgent problem London-wide, and clean air a right of every resident. Khan must keep making that case.
Levelling-up oversight
The latest round of levelling-up funds has been announced, and London has come bottom of the list. The capital received £17 per capita compared with £41 for the North-East and £48 for the North-West.
This newspaper has never been opposed to ensuring all corners of the country enjoy the investment needed to flourish. But too often — in pursuit of nakedly electoral objectives — the Government has overlooked London, despite the pockets of profound deprivation that exist. Investment should be based not on geography, but need.
While all successful local areas will welcome the funding — £2 billion in total — what must not be forgotten is government grants to local authorities, including retained business rates, have been cut 37 per cent in real terms in the 10 years since 2010, from £41 billion to £26 billion. This might explain why many across the country aren’t quite so grateful as the Government may hope.
Ardern shows the way
Few political leaders step down at a time of their choosing — most are kicked out by the electorate or their own party. But New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern has made a habit of going her own way.
In 2017, she became the world’s youngest female head of government aged 37 and a year later was only the second to give birth in office. While her popularity has waned since the 2020 election, her handling of Covid resulted in one of the world’s lowest death tolls.
Her departure may serve as a lesson to other leaders, who often prefer to be prised out of office.
