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London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Labour have dismissed claims they are secretly planning a pay-per-mile scheme for drivers in the capital – and that they want a car-less society – as “complete nonsense” and “completely untrue”.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However,\u00a0Transport Secretary Mark Harper is said to have warned Sir Keir Starmer that the Government will legislate to block Labour from bringing in road charging.\u00a0 And a national newspaper claims it has seen plans to charge\u00a0drivers by the mile – and that London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone ULEZ is just the start of Labour’s “vision” for a car-less society.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
It quotes a “Government source” that says Labour intends to “drive cars off the road” – and another that says plans to charge\u00a0drivers based on the length of the trip taken\u00a0are “an open secret in City Hall”.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Read more… <\/strong> Khan faces ULEZ rebellion as ‘9 out of 10 cameras put out of action’ in new area<\/strong><\/p>\n City Hall, however, insists there is no prospect of pay-per-mile charges \u201cin the foreseeable future\u201d.\u00a0 The denial came after Richard Holden, the roads minister, claimed he had been told by Khan\u2019s deputy that Transport for London (TfL) chiefs had been asked \u201cto investigate the technicalities of introducing road charging across London in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n The latest report comes just days before ULEZ is expanded to cover even the whole of London. Khan claims the August 29 expansion will\u00a0bring “cleaner, healthier air to 5 million more Londoners”.\u00a0<\/p>\n However,\u00a0Khan’s office reportedly tried to “silence” scientists who found that his ULEZ policy had little impact on pollution.\u00a0\u00a0The study by Imperial College’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering found that ULEZ had only cut nitrogen dioxide by less than three per cent and had insignificant effects on ozone and particulate matter.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> And now both Khan and Labour have been forced to deny that ULEZ cameras will be used to facilitate a\u00a0pay-per-mile road tax, which it is claimed will be the next stage of a vision for a car-less society.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Mail on Sunday reports that the Mayor of London’s office and TfL produced papers that stated: “New technology could be used to integrate existing schemes such as the Congestion Charge, Lez and Ulez into a smarter, simpler and fair scheme that would charge motorists on a per-mile basis.<\/p>\n “Different charging rates would apply depending on variables such as how polluting a vehicle is, the level of congestion in the area and access to public transport.”<\/p>\n The newspaper said the document, which was part of a consultation on ULEZ, said: “We are now starting to explore the potential for future road user charging.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Transport Secretary Mark Harper\u00a0said it “has been suggested” that “Labour plan to use air pollution to attempt to justify bringing in pay-per-mile charging for every car in London”. The Forest of Dean\u00a0MP said the Government will back amendments to the upcoming Levelling Up Bill to ensure such changes require local council consent.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n The Mail reports a\u00a0“Government source” who claimed: “Ulez is just the start for them [Labour]. The next stage is driving cars off the road. Labour’s vision is basically a carless society \u2013 certainly in the cities. They have been looking how to technically do this for every road.”<\/p>\n However,\u00a0Labour said this claim is “completely untrue”. And a\u00a0spokesman for Khan told the Mail the allegations are “complete nonsense”.<\/p>\n “Sadiq is crystal clear \u2013 a pay-per-mile scheme is not on the table and not on his agenda,” added the spokesperson.<\/p>\n However, earlier this month,\u00a0Khan said that it could help improve air quality \u201cif you charge people on how many miles they drive, how polluting their vehicle is, what time of day they\u2019re driving\u201d. He described\u00a0 \u201croad-user charging\u201d\u00a0 as \u201cquite exciting\u201d, reported The Telegraph.\u00a0<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/secondary\/Protest-Against-Sadiq-Khan-s-ULEZ-Expansion-4929397.jpg?r=1693094912453\")
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