It looks like Labour are starting to realise Sadiq’s ULEZ expansion is a vote-killer on the doorstep. The party’s candidate for the upcoming Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, Danny Beales, is now claiming it is “not the right time” to whack thousands of constituents with a £12.50 daily charge, having heard “heart-wrenching” tales from local families who’ll be affected by the change next month. He told Sky News last night at a hustings:

“What I’ve been saying – despite perhaps what’s been reported in some various pieces of political literature – is it’s not the right time to extend the ULEZ scheme in outer London, it’s just not… I think when you speak to families, I hear heart-wrenching stories at the moment: carers who have to travel to work and can’t afford to pay for their car and may have to give up their job or they can’t afford to scrap their car with the scrappage scheme available.”

Maybe he should have a conversation about this with the Labour Mayor of London, or perhaps the Leader of the Opposition. Even Sir Keir, Beales’ future boss, claims the ULEZ expansion is supposedly necessary to curb lung cancer. Of course, Guido has already reported on how this is a money-grabbing waste of time, even if Sadiq thinks writing a book called “Breathe” means he knows what he is talking about. Beales must be another satisfied co-conspirator…