Desperate Sunak has set a trap – Labour must avoid falling in

The Conservatives got us into this crisis. Now is not the time to stand by and allow them to set the agenda (Picture: Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak is panicking – and he’s gone into overdrive. Literally. 

In the wake of recent humiliating by-election defeats, the Prime Minister is initiating a self-serving, populist, so-called ‘pro-motorist’ agenda to mask the cracks forming in his own dying Government. 

Desperate Sunak is clearly trying to trap Labour – and I implore them not to fall in. 

The one seat the Conservatives narrowly held onto is Uxbridge & South Ruislip, having  tried to manipulate the campaign to focus on London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and spread distrust of the policy. 

However, during my time campaigning, I found that there were more issues of concern than just ULEZ. 

Once people understood that most cars (over 90% in fact) were covered by the policy, the conversation changed. Instead, voters wanted to know what Labour had to offer. 

That offer was made even more attractive with today’s groundbreaking announcement, from the Mayor of London, that every single London resident with a non-ULEZ-compliant vehicle will be able to apply for funding of up to £2,000 or more. 

A very quick search shows that you can purchase a ULEZ compliant motor for as little as £500, making the decision to switch cars and secure clean air for children and adults in London even easier.

But even if that policy was the main point of discussion – the importance of cleaning up our air cannot be overstated. 

We all want clean air, and no one would argue against that, right? 

To ensure we save lives, we need to make bold changes. Children’s life expectancy is reduced and lung development is stunted due to pollution-related causes, and that is simply unacceptable. 

The true human cost of doing nothing is evident. I have had the privilege of meeting the mother of Ella Roberta Adoo Kissi Debrah, who tragically died in 2013 at the tender age of nine due to excessive air pollution in London. 

Ella wasn’t the first and unfortunately won’t be the last to die from air pollution, and I refuse to allow politicians not to take the tragic and avoidable deaths of children seriously. 

If we could save the life of even one child, wouldn’t we do everything in our power to make it happen? 

The Conservatives have decided that vocal opposition to the ULEZ policy is somehow a vote-winner (Picture: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

That is where this debate should be focused, not the cost to a minority of motorists, a political blame game, or silly photo ops to prop up a failing Prime Minister.

The Conservatives have decided that vocal opposition to the ULEZ policy is somehow a vote-winner and have now gone into some crazed anti-environmental overdrive in a vain attempt to save their own electoral skin. 

It is so ridiculous that the Prime Minister, who seems more likely to be found in a helicopter or private jet than a car, claims to be on the side of drivers, as if helping more people breathe clean air somehow pulls people off the roads. 

It makes you think that all the anger at Just Stop Oil protesters should have been directed towards the Government instead. 

The Tories recently announced a review on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), which aim to limit traffic in town centres, failing to declare that it was their own government who gave councils extra money on the condition that they implement LTNs.

The anti-environmental dead cat strategy continued when the Tories confirmed the commissioning of 100 new oil and gas production licences in the North Sea, even as we all know we need to be less reliant on fossil fuels. 

I wish I could be more optimistic about the Labour party response. 

I’m concerned that we’re falling hook, line, and sinker for the lines coming out of the Conservative Party spin machine. 

Desperate Sunak is clearly trying to trap Labour – and I implore them not to fall in (Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images)

We’ve even seen prominent figures in the Labour Party attacking the Mayor of London and pointing the finger at him for the failure to win the Uxbridge by-election. 

This is wrong. 

It will be a grave mistake for Labour to turn our back on our green commitments because one by-election result did not go our way. 

We should not fear our policies ending up being attacked on Tory leaflets. 

That’s politics. We must be bold. 

Being in government is about defending our strong principles and values and putting the country first. No matter what our policies are, they will be attacked by the Tories, and if we don’t have any policies, we will be defined simply by what the other party does.

I do not want to be defined by this corrupt and immoral Government. 

Let’s proudly stand for green energy, clean air, and achieving zero emissions by 2030. 

We have just a matter of months before the election to convey our message to the public clearly and effectively. 

One thing I do know from my almost two decades as a politician is that they will not trust a party that changes its values based on what the opinion polls say at any given time, no matter how they might feel about any given policy.  

There is more at stake here than one by-election. Or even one general election. 

This is a matter of life and death. The Conservatives got us into this crisis. Now is not the time to stand by and allow them to set the agenda. 

It’s time for Labour to lead the way and develop ideas that move our country forward. 

Let’s push the Government for more investment in green energy and compensation to ensure that people can purchase compliant cars.

And let’s not walk, jump, or even drive into a trap set by Rishi Sunak.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

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I’m concerned that we’re falling hook, line, and sinker for the lines coming out of the Conservative Party spin machine.