Starmer blames Sadiq Khan's Ulez for Uxbridge flop: 'He has to think'

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Labour blamed Sadiq Khan and his hated Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) expansion for their shock by-election defeat in Boris Johnson's former seat in Uxbridge.

Sir Keir Starmer said it was clear Ulez was the reason the Tories won - urging Mr Khan to 'reflect' on expansion. “We know that [was the reason for the defeat]. We heard it on the doors. And we all need to think about it - including the mayor.

Asked what 'reflect' meant - and insisted on whether expansion out of London should now be scrapped - Sir Keir said: "We have to look at the outcome. The mayor needs to think. And it's too early to say what should happen next."

Labour MPs told The Independent that Mr Khan and the party should now ditch politics. This came when Deputy Leader Angela Rayner admitted Labor had failed in north-west London because they had failed to 'listen to the voters' on Ulez. in Ulez."

Ms Rayner added:"The Uxbridge result shows that when you don't listen to voters you don't win elections...People are genuinely worried about how during a cost of living crisis they're going to be hit with an Ulez burden they can't afford."

Failure to overthrow the Tory majority in seat was dubbed "Uloss" by a Labor insider in anger at Mr. .

Despite optimism Labor list that a majority of 7,000 could be overturned and a humiliating triple by-election defeat handed to Rishi Sunak, Uxbridge Conservative candidate Steve Tuckwell managed to retain him by 495 votes. cars that fail to meet emissions standards.

New Tory MP Steve Tuckwell has said...