Tories accused of hypocrisy in Ulez row after call to extend congestion charge
The Guardian says Ministers have been accused of hypocrisy in claiming Sadiq Khan expanded London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to raise revenue after it emerged the Department for Transport urged the mayor to extend the city’s congestion charge for the same reason.
On the first day of Ulez covering every London borough there was renewed bickering between the Labour mayor and the government, with Khan castigating Mark Harper, the transport secretary, for what he called factual mistakes after the pair crossed paths at a TV studio.
Harper and Rishi Sunak have sought to present the extension of the £12.50 daily charge for the most polluting vehicles as part of a “war on motorists” by Labour, amid a wider ditching of green policies after the Conservatives’ unexpected win in July’s Uxbridge byelection, a constituency affected by the extension.