Sadiq Khan to stand by Ulez after Starmer's stern warning over Uxbridge defeat

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Sadiq Khan is to stick to his clean air zone plans after being asked to 'consider' Labor leader Keir Starmer's policy.

Sources close to City Hall say the Mayor of London remains committed to expanding the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez) at the end of August, but is happy to consider new ideas to lessen its impact on Londoners.

Mr. Khan still believes Ulez is the right thing to do to save the lives of those suffering from air pollution and avert the climate crisis.

The mayor was said to be in 'listening mode' over the weekend after a call with the Labor leader on Friday, which his aides described as 'constructive'. tackling air pollution or climate change.

Reports in The Sunday Times quoting a "senior Labor source" saying the mayor was "reviewing" the policy allegedly not coming from Mr Khan's town hall - but rather Operation Starmer.

Sir Keir blamed Ulez for Labor's narrow defeat in the Uxbridge by-election this week, where his party failed to win the solidly Tory seat by a few hundred votes.

He said the Clean Air Zone was "the reason we lost", adding: "We all have to think about it, including the mayor."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan plans to expand the Ulez border to include all London boroughs from August 29 (Lucy North/PA)

(PA Wire)

Labour election candidate Danny Beales has taken a critical stance on the pollution charge during the campaign, calling for it to be stopped. He has since described it as "bad policy".

The Labor leadership's approach provoked a backlash from some of its London members, drawing criticism from councilors involved in cleaning the capital's air.

Max Sul...