Responding to the announcement from the Mayor of London that the Ultra-Low Emission Zone will expand up to the North and South Circular, Labour’s London Assembly Environment Spokesperson, Leonie Cooper AM, said:
“This is fantastic news for our city. We’ve long said we needed radical change to protect the health of people living in our city and following the T-Charge he brought in last year, introducing the Ultra-Low Emission Zone in central London in April next year is a hugely important part of the Mayor’s ambitious plans.
“London’s polluted air is killing almost 10,000 people a year and it is a public health emergency that we cannot afford to ignore. Sadiq Khan’s stringent measures to tackle toxic air are a far cry from the years of shameful inaction from his predecessor, Boris Johnson.
“This silent killer also leaves many Londoners with damage to their health, and children and the poor are particularly vulnerable – so we now need others to act too. When it comes to protecting the health of Londoners, the Government must show they are willing to abandon their record of complacency and immediately start work to introduce a compensatory diesel scrappage scheme, a new Clean Air Act, and reformed vehicle excise duty.”