Earlier today, I was incredibly proud to speak in the Commons Chamber as the Member of Parliament – as your local Member of Parliament – for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in support of Gareth Davies’ bill to roll back Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ money grab and giving the final say on any new expansion to the Secretary of State for Transport.
Yet, Labour played politics. They ran down the clock with speeches – some of which went on for over thirty minutes - so that the rest of the debate now needs to be resumed at a later date.
Is anyone really surprised? It’s the same games Labour have played for years.
And why? To protect the Labour Mayor of London from scrutiny.
But that’s not all – they played politics with the least well-off, the most vulnerable, and some of the hardest working Londoners.
That’s because the bill helped to right the longstanding wrongs over the Mayor of London’s expansion of ULEZ, ensuring such plans are featured in the most recent manifesto and evaluating all consultation responses.
Both of these things didn’t happen with Sadiq Khan’s expansion. There was no mention of it in his manifesto, and there are almost as many questions hanging over his consultation as there are ULEZ enforcement cameras.
No one is against clean air. No one in London is against clean air. No one in Uxbridge and South Ruislip is against clean air.
Yet the Mayor’s approach by expanding ULEZ in the way he has, has been one that has sought to punish instead of encourage; chastise instead of listen; and castigate instead of accommodate.
As I said when I was first elected, I will continue to do all I can to roll-back ULEZ, and in the meantime, lessen any of its crippling effects on Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
Watch my full speech here.
