A tough watch from the Greater London Assembly yesterday, with Sadiq repeatedly dodging simple questions over the impact of his wallet-raiding ULEZ expansion, and refusing to admit that he simply couldn’t provide the data that would support his own plan. Never mind the stats, his ‘experience’ tells him he’s right…

Asked multiple times by GLA Conservative Deputy Leader to provide a source for his claim that “the poorest in London do not own cars” – a reasonable question, given everyone in Greater London will soon be charged £12.50 just to switch on their engines – Sadiq threw the question back over and over again, eventually insisting Fortune should “knock on a few more doors” and speak to more Londoners. Presumably they’ll have the data he’s looking for. 

Expanding the ULEZ to the whole of Greater London will inevitably affect thousands of middle and lower income households, and Sadiq knows it. Of course, rate of car access rises with incomes, yet even around half of households on £20,000 a year have access. Sadiq forgets that the likes of bus drivers and NHS workers have cars out of necessity, because public transport isn’t there at the times needed for shift-workers. Maybe this is the data Sadiq couldn’t remember:

Inevitably those living in outer London will be disproportionately affected by this, even on lower incomes. At least the air will be slightly cleaner…