Tory mayoral hopeful promises Ulez referendum for London boroughs
Outer London boroughs will be given an in/out referendum on whether to stay in Sadiq Khan’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez)[1] under plans drawn up by a Tory mayoral hopeful. Samuel Kasumu said he would grant boroughs affected by the forthcoming Ulez expansion[2] a vote on whether to remain in the zone or leave it if he is elected as mayor next year. Mr Khan is set to expand the Ulez zone to cover all 32 boroughs in August, with vehicles that fail to meet emissions standards being forced to pay[3] GBP12.50 every day to travel.
Mr Kasumu, a 35-year-old former adviser to Boris Johnson[4] in Downing Street, is seeking the Tory nomination to take on Mr Khan in the May 2024 mayoral election. Speaking to The Telegraph, he said Ulez would be “a key battleground” in the race to be mayor. The project is hugely controversial, with many outer London residents complaining that they lack the public transport links[5] to which inner London has access.
Mr Kasumu, currently a councillor on Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council and its cabinet member for climate change and the environment, said he was “equally as passionate” about green issues as Mr Khan.
But explaining his opposition to the Ulez expansion, he said: “You’ve got to do things in a responsible manner, and you have to be able to take people with you. You can’t just impose your will on folks who don’t want it.” However, with the expansion due to be completed eight months before the mayoral vote, opponents of the scheme[7] are faced with a quandary about how to respond.
Mr Kasumu said: “Our challenge as Conservatives is going to have to be around how we can responsibly reverse any damage that is already done by the time we get into office.” He said a “blanket reversal” of the extension could trigger legal challenges, adding further costs to the scheme. Instead, he plans to give a “democratic mandate” to each outer London borough by granting them a vote on whether to stick with Ulez[8] or ditch it.
“I will promise within the first 12 months to have a local referendum for every outer London borough so they can be empowered with the choice about how they respond to what Sadiq has done,” he said. Mr Kasumu said he would explore “digital options” for the referendums, which would “help to reduce some of the costs”, although alternatives would be made available for the digitally excluded. Under the plans, councils would be able to apply to the Greater London Authority for grants to promote the referendums.
He said he would limit the vote to the boroughs affected by the expanded zone because it would be a “challenge” to “unravel Ulez within inner city London” and “it doesn’t seem to be something where there is significant demand from inner city London boroughs anyway”.
Samuel Kasumu, Conservative London mayoral hopeful[9]
He said it would be “very simple” and “a bit like Brexit” – “in or out, and we will respect whatever choice they make” – but added that he expected the “vast majority will vote to reverse it”. The policy commitment is likely to mark the start of a bidding war in which Tory candidates will compete for the support of the party grassroots with anti-Ulez pledges[10]. So far, only two candidates have put themselves forward for the Conservative mayoral nomination, with Andrew Boff, a member of the London Assembly, also declaring.
More candidates are expected to do so this spring. Mr Kasumu, who grew up in Barnet, north London, joined the Conservatives when he was 19. He served as a special adviser to Mr Johnson in Number 10 but resigned in 2021.
In a leaked resignation letter, he accused the party of “choosing to pursue a politics steeped in division[11]“. He conceded that the nature of his resignation could present an obstacle to him winning the nomination, but pointed to polling from YouGov last week showing that the Tories were 40 points behind Labour in London when it comes to Westminster voting intentions. “London is at a crossroads,” he said. “The majority of Londoners are underwhelmed by Sadiq’s performance but at the same time… there is a challenge for the Conservative brand.
There is a need for a candidate that is in some respects viewed as an outsider but still has very clear Conservative principles.
“If you’re going with someone who is a minister or was a minister, you’re going to spend the next year defending 13 years of Tory policy, which might work in certain parts of the UK but obviously is not going to work in London.”
References
- ^ Sadiq Khan’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Ulez expansion (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ being forced to pay (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ former adviser to Boris Johnson (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ lack the public transport links (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ 1803 ulez postcode map (cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ opponents of the scheme (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ with Ulez (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Samuel Kasumu, Conservative London mayoral hopeful (cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ anti-Ulez pledges (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ a politics steeped in division (www.telegraph.co.uk)