Well an interesting night

[SueEllen]

Which may explain why he chose to ignore the findings of an independent report he commissioned, which found that "expanding Ulez would have a negligible effect on reducing carbon emissions in 2023, while causing a disproportionate financial impact on disabled people, pregnant women and those on lower incomes" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/co...nsport-london/)

Looks like it's all about the money after all.

ULEZ is about air quality and not carbon emissions.

So I wouldn't quote The Telegraph on it who don't understand the difference.

The problem is parts of Uxbridge and South Ruislip are on the Heathrow flight path where planes are low, are near Northolt with it's private jets, and next to the M25.

So if you live there ULEZ makes no sense.

There are other areas in London that have similar issues but due to their locations people had to get ULEZ compliant vehicles in 2018.

Oh and wood burning stoves need to be banned by the government in all urban areas as while councils are rewriting their clean air bye-laws they don't have the power to ban them.

[malvolio]

Which may explain why he chose to ignore the findings of an independent report he commissioned, which found that "expanding Ulez would have a negligible effect on reducing carbon emissions in 2023, while causing a disproportionate financial impact on disabled people, pregnant women and those on lower incomes" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/co...nsport-london/)

Looks like it's all about the money after all.

Of course it is, and always has been. TfL is close to bankrupt so is grabbing any way to earn (?) money it can under any pretext. Labelling it under the heading "Climate Change" is merely a way to justify it to people. Clearly people in Uxbridge - and no doubt every other candidate for expansion - have seen through the smokescreen.

It's also interesting to note that reportedly unpaid ULEZ fines exceed ULEZ income in the existing areas...

[Snooky]

As part of the conditions to get extra funding from the Department of Transport he had to extend it.

Which may explain why he chose to ignore the findings of an independent report he commissioned, which found that "expanding Ulez would have a negligible effect on reducing carbon emissions in 2023, while causing a disproportionate financial impact on disabled people, pregnant women and those on lower incomes" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/co...nsport-london/)

Looks like it's all about the money after all.

[SueEllen]

Except it's Kahn that is extending it far beyond its original marginally justifiable area.

As part of the conditions to get extra funding from the Department of Transport he had to extend it.

Grant Shapps letter is all over social media.

(Rishi was chancellor in that administration.)


Oh and TFL are abolishing train tickets with travel cards from next January as The Mayor doesn't want to continue to do a 50% split of the travelcard money .with rail operators. Paper travelcard tickets are also going.

[malvolio]

The world has gone mad.

Sir Keir Starmer is blaming Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, for implementing a policy that Sadiq Khan was made to do by a Tory former Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps. This was to secure TFL funding due to the Covid lockdowns.

The Tory government and Grant Shapps, himself, are pretending this policy they are making Sadiq Khan implement had nothing to do with them.

Except it's Kahn that is extending it far beyond its original marginally justifiable area.

[SueEllen]

The world has gone mad.

Sir Keir Starmer is blaming Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, for implementing a policy that Sadiq Khan was made to do by a Tory former Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps. This was to secure TFL funding due to the Covid lockdowns.

The Tory government and Grant Shapps, himself, are pretending this policy they are making Sadiq Khan implement had nothing to do with them.

[malvolio]

The boundaries are changing in your area.

Gosh, are they?

If (when) they go ahead, life will be a lot more difficult to predict. Many comfortable Tory and LD seats will suddenly find they have morphed into three-way battles, and rural communities have been lumped in with urban ones (especially up north where bits of Labour-voting Bristol are now in Tory-voting Somerset politically). As long as I don't wind up with the abominable Tessa Munt as my MP, I'm fairly relaxed about it...

My bet is that the Tories will gain overall, since disaffected ex-tory voters will have two or three viable alternatives.

[SueEllen]

Angela Rayner has just said "I'm in a Keir sandwich"



(Sorry!)

[SueEllen]

I'm not reading too much into Somerton. Our council is LD led and widely regarded as useless and expensive and the ex-Tory MP was a total sleazeball. Come a GE they still vote for Heappey who is a total failure as a constituency MP. I think this was far more of a silent protest that some think.

But still a smack in the mouth for both Sunak and Starmer

The boundaries are changing in your area.

[malvolio]

I'm not reading too much into Somerton. Our council is LD led and widely regarded as useless and expensive and the ex-Tory MP was a total sleazeball. Come a GE they still vote for Heappey who is a total failure as a constituency MP. I think this was far more of a silent protest that some think.

But still a smack in the mouth for both Sunak and Starmer

[vetran]

Perhaps this is traditional Tory supporters not bothering to vote because they no longer recognise the party.

keep on hoping that Labour, we remember B'ruin & B'Liar!

[Protagoras]

Its not a rout but a loss to lib Dems then Labour because of low tory turnout.

Perhaps this is traditional Tory supporters not bothering to vote because they no longer recognise the party.

[vetran]

Its not a rout but a loss to lib Dems then Labour because of low tory turnout.

Keir may not be the sledgehammer Labour need.

[SueEllen]

Lib Dem 1 Somerton and Frome Swing Majority 11,008
Labour 1 Selby and Ainsty Swing Majority 4,161
Tories 1 Uxbridge and South Ruislip Hold Majority 495

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...cs-latest-news

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-66181315

In short ULEZ expansion gave the Tories a win of 495 I've lived in a seat which had a small Tory majority at a by-election. Next election the second place candidate thumped them.