Tory MP warns against roll back on green pledges after anti-Ulez by-election win in Uxbridge

A London Tory MP has warned against rolling back on green policies after a campaign against the Ulez expansion led to a surprise by-election victory for the Conservatives in Uxbridge.

David Simmonds, MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, said his party should “refrain from drawing wider conclusions about environmental action” after the Tories retained Boris Johnson’s former seat by fewer than 500 votes last week.

But Mr Simmonds said tackling pollution and climate change “remains overwhelmingly popular nationwide”.

“If we vacate this space, we’ll hand an electorally potent issue to the Labour Party before the next election,” Mr Simmonds wrote in ConservativeHome.

“Instead, we must continue to be an environmentally ambitious political party focusing on action that lowers people’s bills, creates jobs, and unlocks investment.”

Labour had been the overwhelming favourites to win the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election after Mr Johnson quit the seat.

But Tory Steve Tuckwell won the vote after campaigning ferociously against the expansion of Mayor Sadiq Khan’s clean air zone.

Following the count, the Hillingdon councillor admitted that he had run an “incredibly single minded” campaign that had been in “complete opposition to Ulez from the outset”.

Sir Keir Starmer and Labour candidate Danny Beales blamed the policy for Labour’s narrow defeat.

It also dragged the Conservatives into an internal row over environment policy.

Michael Gove warned his colleagues against “treating the cause of the environment as a religious crusade”.

Former minister Zac Goldsmith, who quit the government over Rishi Sunak’s climate policies, said it would be “cynical and idiotic” to scrap environment measures on the back of a single by-election result.

But Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Tories had a “real chance” at winning the next election if they rowed back on green policies.

The Ulez is due to expand to the outer London boundary on August 29. The result of a High Court fight against the scheme expansion, launched by five Tory councils, is expected this week.

TfL contractors have installed 1,775 cameras – despite having to contend with widespread vandalism and the opposition of seven boroughs to having cameras erected on local roads.

The latest TfL data shows that the proportion of vehicles complying with the Ulez emission rules in the existing zone has risen to 95.3 per cent – and 96.6 per cent for cars.