The ULEZ dilemma

A collection of climate stories mostly

I try to avoid writing about the news, unless I happen to get there first, something I’ve managed once or twice.

But the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is on the horns of a dilemma, where some of us get to participate. It’s the first time that a law about climate change very clearly impacts voters pockets. As a result it has turned into a political football.

The people of Uxbridge and South Ruislip were given the opportunity to cast a protest vote against the expansion of ULEZ, by putting a cross in Steve Tuckwell’s conservative box. He campaigned exclusively on this issue, perhaps a sleight of hand trick to distract from a woeful government record?

Despite substantial swings against the Conservatives in all three by-elections, the strategy in Uxbridge, fighting the one issue, returned a narrow 495 vote margin of victory over Labour’s Danny Beales.

Was he wrong to do that? Of course not. Recognising that it was a hot topic of debate, gave Tuckwell one last throw of the dice to keep the seat blue, repeating the result of the previous fourteen parliamentary elections back to 1970.

Tuckwell’s opportunity to deliver on his promise has, however, been severely dented since. On 28th July 2023 the high court challenge brought by a…