Local elections are taking place in England and Wales today, but it is also a test of sentiment for the British government. In London it’s about the future of Mayor Khan – and his transport policy.
It’s hard to find a taxi driver in London who doesn’t swear at the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan. Drivers express incomprehension about the many one-way streets and traffic bans. Sometimes turning left is prohibited, sometimes turning right is prohibited.
Taxi drivers in London are suffering, as are many others who rely on cars. This is also the case for Danny Madden, a building contractor in north London, who is now also plagued by the environmental fee: “We have lost orders as a result,” says Madden. They would have to pass on the high extra costs to the customers. “And they said: If it gets more expensive now, we’ll withdraw the order.”
Debt for the environmental zone
Drivers who do not comply with the emissions standard have to pay the equivalent of 15 euros per day. A clean air levy that covers the whole of London.
Madden has now sold its vans and purchased new ones that comply with emissions standards. Now he saves the fee, but is stuck with a mountain of debt. He has to earn money and pay employees. But now he has extra costs because of the environmental zone.
Clean air is Khan’s main campaign issue
The topic is emotional. The main point of contention is the question of whether driving should be made as unattractive as possible to improve air quality, even if it costs votes. London’s Mayor Khan from the Labor Party boasts that he has already reduced car traffic. During the election campaign, he said he wanted people to walk, cycle, take the bus or train.
Today it’s about his re-election. Clean air and transport are among the main issues. He also gets applause for that. London’s air is still difficult to breathe.
Low emission zones, environmental fee: Clean air measures in London are angering drivers.
Extremes Air pollution affects health
Rosamund Kissi-Debrah stands demonstratively at a busy intersection to tell her story. Her daughter died at the age of nine from the polluted London air. “Suddenly she developed the worst cough I’ve ever experienced,” says the mother. They then had to go to hospital over 30 times because of severe asthma attacks. “It didn’t end well. She died from it.”
That was ten years ago. Since then, Kissi-Debrah has been fighting for better air and supports every measure that makes driving less attractive. To anyone who disagrees, she shows her daughter’s autopsy report: “She died from extreme air pollution, that’s what it says on her death certificate.”
Mayoral election becomes a vote on environmental measures
Londoners are divided on the issue. Half support the environmental fee and restrictions on cars, the other half do not. Mayor Khan therefore sees today’s election day as a vote on his tough measures.
“If I lose the election, I guess I was wrong,” says Khan. But sometimes you have to stand by tough measures and try to explain to people why they are “right and there is no alternative.”
“Give a finger to national politics”
In addition to London, elections are held in more than a hundred other municipalities and major cities in England and Wales. It’s about issues like holes in the streets or even deeper craters in the communities’ finances.
At the same time, the local elections will also be an important test of sentiment for the British Parliament elections later in the year. The general mood in the country has a major influence on today’s election, says Jon Tabbush from the Center for London think tank. Topics would also play a role that no one locally had any influence on. “This shows that this is also about giving national politics a pointer.”
Mood test for General elections and Sunak
That’s why Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be watching closely. With his conservative Tories, he is lagging behind the Labor Party in national surveys.
The local elections will give him an idea of how bleak the prospects really are for him and the Conservatives. He even has to fear coup attempts from his own ranks if the results end disastrously for the Tories.
Sven Lohmann, ARD London, tagesschau, May 1st, 2024 9:57 p.m