It is ULEZ expansion day. At midnight, London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone swelled all the way to the M25, meaning motorists with non-compliant cars as far out as Kent will now have to cough up £12.50 every time they switch on their engines. Despite a chorus of opposition, even from his own Labour colleagues, Sadiq Khan insists it is a moral decision that will save lives. This morning however, after that compulsory “reflection” enforced by Sir Keir, Khan finally admitted the ULEZ cost Labour the Uxbridge by-election last month – although “misinformation” was apparently a factor:

“…Londoners want to see cleaner air in our city… it was a difficult decision, I accept ULEZ was a factor in relation to Uxbridge and Ruislip, a lot of misinformation in relation to that seat, obviously I’m disappointed we didn’t make history and win that seat for the first time in my lifetime. But Londoners support our policies to clean up our air and city…”

Once again, misinformation and conspiracies explain away the ULEZ’s unpopularity. The fact the Labour candidate himself attacked it during the campaign probably didn’t help either. Meanwhile Transport Secretary Mark Harper has reaffirmed this morning that the government can’t do anything to stop Khan, as if they don’t command a huge Commons majority. Like they’re in opposition already…

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…

Labour’s Uxbridge candidate Danny Beales has had a spring clean of his social media profile now he’s standing for public office. The mould-loving Camden councillor has been caught on a deleting spree of trans pride tweets… including his pose in front of a £40,000 trans flag road crossing…

Now gone, lost to the sands of time. Presumably he’s had a change of heart on identity politics now he might be asked impossible questions like “what is a woman?” At least he’s not the only candidate to acid wash his Twitter account this week – just ask Daniel Korski…

With Harriet Harman’s kangaroo court Privileges Committee soon set to adjudicate on Boris Johnson’s future, new polling suggests the threat of a by-election would be far from fatal for the former Prime Minister. A constituency poll of voters, in Uxbridge and South Ruislip alone, from Lord Ashcroft shows Boris would be home and dry, raking in a stonking 50% of the vote. Labour’s black mould candidate crashes and burns on 33%, whilst Guido’s favourite tofu fan, Blaise Baquiche, clocks in 6%. If the kangaroo court does jump to a by-election, Boris’s opponents would need one hell of a bounce to stand any chance…

This isn’t the only good news for Boris from the poll. Voters in Uxbridge were also asked their opinion of his record as Prime Minister: just 29% had a negative opinion with 41% saying he was “good” or “great”. By a net margin of 13%, voters also have a positive perception of his record as a constituency MP. Bring on the by-election…

Camden Council pleaded guilty to two health and safety breaches concerning the lack of fire detectors, alarms and a viable escape route at a council-maintained block of flats in which a blaze took the life of 35-year-old Magdalena Fink in November 2017. The council have been ordered to hand over £500,000 of taxpayers’ money in fines. It will also cover the £41,000 legal costs of the London Fire Brigade, who brought the prosecution. 

Worse still, the council were warned in a 2013 risk assessment that the block urgently required a new fire alarm system, replacement fire doors and removal of flammable cladding on the only escape route.

Cllr Matthew Kirk of the LibDems said: 

“This is a huge amount of money which could have bought a lot of benefits for Camden residents… no officer has taken responsibility for this clearly dramatic failing.”

The Camden Council member responsible for planning, regeneration, economic growth and “Camden’s ambitious council house building programme” since October 2017 is none other than Danny Beales. A councillor since May 2014, Beales’ tenure at the top has been plagued by mould, damp, and fires. Yet despite the dangerous living conditions, the Camden cabinet voted to put council home tenants’ rents up by 7% in January.

Beales is bidding to be underwhelming on the national stage as he hopes to unseat Boris Johnson at the next election…

The Camden councillor hoping to unseat Boris Johnson in Uxbridge is the man responsible for a flagship development which became “overwhelmed with damp and black mould”. Danny Beales’s profile on Camden Labour boasts he is the “cabinet member responsible for Camden’s ambitious council house building programme”. It’s not something to be proud of considering recent developments…

Last week it was reported that an 89-year old great grandmother, Margaret Davis, was forced to move out of her flat in Camden’s flagship housing block due to poor conditions. Margaret, who has suffered from pneumonia, had been housed in the block since 2018, after the council demolished her flat of 55 years. The Council also delayed their plans to move Margaret, though have now done so and issued an apology. All on Danny’s watch. Considering his stump speech leans so heavily on experiences of homelessness, he of all people should know the value of good quality housing.

Danny has previously bragged of acting on the housing crisis where the national government “has failed”. He adds that Camden Council, which operates over Sir Keir’s constituency, is “showing the way for a Labour government”. Guido wouldn’t put that one in the manifesto…