Labour blames Ulez after defeat in by-election for Boris Johnson’s old seat

Labour candidate Danny Beales, left, was defeated in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election by Tory Steve Tuckewll, right, who now takes over from former PM Boris Johnson (Picture: PA / Getty Images)

Labour has failed to snatch away Boris Johnson’s former seat in the by-election – and the Ulez expansion is entirely to blame, according to its senior figures.

The Conservative Party managed to cling on to Uxbridge and South Ruislip by the narrowest of margins, edging it by just 495 votes.

London mayor Sadiq Khan plans to make the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) three times bigger from August 29 onwards in an attempt to improve the capital city’s air quality.

And Labour frontbencher Steve Reed said it’s those plans that ultimately proved to swing the tide in favour of the new Tory MP Steve Tuckwell, suggesting the by-election was essentially a referendum on Ulez.

It’s been an ongoing topic of controversy for quite some time, and at least 200 Ulez cameras have already been torn down by Londoners protesting against the £12.50 expansion charge.

Transport for London has even said it will now need to keep the Ulez camera locations a secret to try and stop them being ‘vandalised or chopped down even faster than they already are’.

Mr Tuckwell himself admitted Ulez was a crucial factor in fending off Labour candidate Danny Beales to become MP for the area.

This map shows how far the Ulez will expand under Sadiq Khan’s plans from August 29 onwards (Picture: metro.co.uk)

Conservative Party winning candidate Steve Tuckwell shakes hands with Labour candidate Danny Beales at Queensmead Sports Centre in South Ruislip, west London, after the results of the by-election (Picture: PA)

He told reporters: ‘My campaign has been incredibly single-minded and it’s really been in complete opposition to Ulez from the outset.

‘That’s not me saying that, it’s not me that called the referendum on Ulez. It is the people of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.’

Speaking after the results were announced from the count at Queensmead Sports Centre, responding to why Labour ultimately failed, Mr Reed blamed the scheme.

The shadow justice secretary said: ‘I think the winning Conservative candidate just said it, didn’t he? He said that if it wasn’t for Ulez, he believes Labour would have won this by-election.

‘Clearly, it did resonate with a lot of people. They didn’t like the fact that Ulez was going to cost people more to drive around at a time when there’s a cost-of-living crisis going on.

‘That’s exactly what Danny Beales was saying all the way through the campaign. But I think when the voters speak, any party that seeks to govern has to listen. So that’s what Labour will be doing after this.’

Steve Reed, Labour frontbencher and MP for Croydon North, blamed the Ulez expansion scheme for the defeat (Picture: PA)

Drivers who don’t meet the requirements of low emissions will need to pay £12.50 to drive around London (Picture: Getty Images)

Ex-prime minister Mr Johnson previously held the west London seat with a majority of 7,210 in 2019 but Thursday’s vote was triggered by his resignation.

Mr Tuckwell’s success was the only good news for Rishi Sunak on a night of otherwise dismal outcomes for the Tories, losing former safe seats of Selby and Ainsty, and Somerton and Frome.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner believes it would have been a clean sweep of defeats for Mr Sunak’s party if Ulez wasn’t a major factor.

She told BBC Breakfast: ‘I think one of the things we have to reflect on today is not only the mood against the Tories, but also the decision in Uxbridge was related to Ulez.

‘The Uxbridge result shows that when you don’t listen to the voters, you don’t win elections.’

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, pictured here alongside Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, stands by the Ulez expansion scheme (Picture: PA)

Despite Labour’s senior members laying blame at his door, Mr Khan is still standing by his contentious scheme.

A source close to the London mayor said: ‘Winning Uxbridge and South Ruislip was always going to be a struggle for Labour.

‘Sadiq has always been clear that expanding the Ulez was a really difficult decision, but necessary to save the lives of young and vulnerable Londoners.’

Polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice was clear the Tories are in ‘deep electoral trouble’ following their by-election defeats.

But he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Labour must ask why its hold on the electorate is ‘apparently so weak’ that when a local issue like the Ulez scheme in Uxbridge comes up they ‘don’t perform as they should’.

After saying ‘Sadiq Khan needs to listen’, Mr Reed added: ‘Well, I think there will be Labour MPs in outer London boroughs who will be looking at this result tonight with sweaty palms.’

The Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat used to be held by former prime minister Boris Johnson (Picture: AP)

The Labour candidate, Danny Beales, had expressed his reservations about the policy, stating that the timing was not appropriate for expanding the £12.50 daily charge on cars that do not meet emissions standards.

Failure to overturn the Tory majority in the seat was dubbed ‘Uloss’ by a party insider in a sign of the unease at Mr Khan’s plan.

Mr Tuckwell received 13,965 votes to Mr Beales’s 13,470 to claim the constituency for the Tories.

Mr Reed added: ‘There are going to be many lessons and I think the right thing to do would be to reflect on what’s happened this evening and have a think about what that might be and that we need to change and then come back and make sure that we are representing the aspirations and ambitions of the public.’

Asked what his party could have done differently, he said: ‘I think those responsible for that policy will need to reflect on what the voters have said and whether there’s an opportunity to change.’

A Labour spokesperson said: ‘This was always going to be a difficult battle in a seat that has never had a Labour MP and we didn’t even win in 1997.

‘We know that the Conservatives crashing the economy has hit working people hard, so it’s unsurprising that the Ulez expansion was a concern for voters here in a by-election.’

Mr Johnson, who resigned in anticipation of the damning finding that he lied to Parliament with his partygate denials, said the result in Uxbridge was ‘fantastic news’.

‘Well done Steve Tuckwell and the amazing Conservative council and association members,’ he said.

‘This shows the Conservatives can win in London and around the country.’

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The new Tory MP even agreed.