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THE KHANGESTION CHARGE WILL HURT PEOPLE, WITH WORSE TO COME… On 25 Nov 2022, the
London Mayor announced his decision to proceed with making the ULEZ zone
London-wide: ● The decision is potentially bad news for. Car owners, car
club users and motorcyclists Mobile businesses
and professional drivers Members of the
public who rent a vehicle, hire a cab or enjoy a lift Members of the
public who have goods delivered or tradesmen call. This includes many
people and businesses who depend on older vehicles for work purposes,
hospital appointments, etc. ● You have to dig deep in a technical consultation
document to find the assumption that the Mayor will have full road pricing in place by 2026. Yes, charging everyone with a vehicle just for driving
in Greater London. Getting thousands of surveillance cameras in is a step
towards this. ● There is plenty of indicators that
Transport for London’s consultation was biased and otherwise illegal. ULEZ
expansion can be stopped – if the Mayor’s decision is quashed by a court.
This can be done through a Judicial Review.
Four London councils have made the case
that the decision was illegal as the Mayor did not use the correct powers and
the consultation and its follow-up were not handled lawfully.
Transport for London are gung-ho that it was all lawful. There is also an independent
crowd-funder for a Judicial Review, with an update on progress pending. ABD will be liaising with the driver taking
this initiative over the possible opportunities. (For more on CrowdJustice
appeal T&Cs.
NB the screen below was from the initial stage). ADDING INSULT TO INJURY … KHAN’S HYPOCRISY Khan is a hypocrite
- in his 2021 Manifesto (p33),
he crowed: “The
Tories tried to force an extension to the Congestion Charge to the North and South Circulars….But I stood firm and stopped [it] from
happening.” ‘’Clean Air Khan’ has
also – repeatedly - let off lavish fireworks displays when it suited him,
including 12,000 fireworks on New
Year’s Eve 2022:
While telling everyone else to
reduce their emissions, Khan and his team are quite happy to take
international flights
when it suits them. The Mayor has also
been encouraging
people out of their cars and onto “cleaner public transport” and to use the tube
more
- despite researchers’ recent report noting that particulate
(PM) levels on the Underground are not just higher than London background
levels, they are above World Health Organization (WHO) defined limits. |
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A MAYOR FOR FLEECING ALL LONDONERS? ● Is it
‘London’s toxic air’ or ‘London’s toxic Mayor’, please, Mr Khan? In
the shorter term, he wants to justify increased taxes on poorer drivers on
‘air quality’ grounds. It’s funny that if Greater London’s air is so filthy
(as he claims), why is he always urging people to walk and cycle in it? ● The suggestion that around 4,000 Londoners
die a year as a result of air pollution is a bit of a try-on. Visit here
for a rebuttal and here
for more about other ‘air quality’ topics such as asthma. ● The Mayor’s consultation proposals don’t
feature a proper cost-revenue analysis, which is a major omission. Surely
Londoners have the right to know how much it will all cost (taxpayers’ money
one way or another)? Also to know
how much the Mayor will be making out of us (revenue)? Does he expect us to
just rubber-stamp his hyped proposals? ● Mayor Khan has previously eyed the £500m
of car tax (VED) Londoners pay to the Government every year, “If the Government refuses, I will ask TfL
to consider other ways of raising income”. He has recently levied a charge of £20 on council tax bills for
Transport for London, who are pushing for unpopular schemes like LTNs (Low
Traffic Neighbourhoods) that force traffic onto main roads. They make drivers
travel further, burning more fuel and increasing emissions. SORRY, MR MAYOR …. It’s a case of KHAN’T PAY, WON’T PAY Archive page for
summer 2022 consultation campaign: |
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The Alliance of
British Drivers is pleased to be part of the public backlash against the
Mayor’s money-raking proposals. ABD is liaising with
campaign networks in and out of London to wield the technical
and legal arguments against ULEZ. Please help spread the
word and - better still - actively support us in calling for a
fairer deal for drivers who already pay billions a year in taxes. Contact
support@abdlondon.uk or 07976-414913
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