Mayor of London Sadiq Khan's plans to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone to cover all of Greater London has been described as "the worst assault on motorists" by Orpington MP Gareth Bacon.
Writing in The Telegraph, Bacon accused Khan of "destroying London" amid the mayor's plans to charge people £12.50 a day when driving vehicles that do not meet the environmental requirements within the ULEZ.
Sharing his thoughts on the confirmed expansion, Bacon said that "the London Mayor is determined to price working people off the roads and has ignored their overwhelming objections, giving them no choice, time or opportunity to avoid a ruinous bill."
Sadiq Khan’s latest plan to make it harder to drive should worry us all.
— Gareth Bacon MP (@GarethBaconMP) December 28, 2022
If Mr Khan gets away with this, any other city or regional mayor can impose reckless driving charges across the country. It must be stopped.
My article in today's @Telegraph:https://t.co/IaUDYIemvD
The Conservative MP has represented Orpington since 2019 and has been opposed to the mayor's plans since they were announced in March of 2022.
In his article for The Telegraph, Bacon invited the mayor to "leave the comfort of City Hall and come to the doorsteps of my constituency, Orpington, on the very edge of Greater London, where thousands (83 per cent of households own a car) could be hit with an eye-watering annual driving bill of up to £4,500."
READ MORE: ULEZ: What area does the Ultra Low Emission Zone cover?
READ MORE: What is the ULEZ and why is it expanding in 2023?
READ MORE: Will I have to pay to drive in London's ULEZ?
Mr Bacon added that Orpington residents do not have access to tubes or trams and "can’t be zoomed across the capital" sharing that many "often rely on their cars to access the public transport network."
The MP also described the mayor's expansion plans as "immoral and unfair" adding that it was "time ministers looked seriously at the accountability of directly elected mayors."
The mayor announced the plans for ULEZ in early 2022, sharing that it was to help improve air quality and improve the quality of life in the region.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been approached for comment.
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