Sir Keir Starmer today revealed he has told London mayor Sadiq Khan to ‘reflect’ on his planned expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in ‘frank’ talks.

The Labour leader said he had spoken to Mr Khan, his fellow Labour politician, in the wake of last week’s by-election in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

Labour failed to win Boris Johnson’s former parliamentary seat off the Tories at the by-election, amid a fierce backlash against Mr Khan’s ULEZ expansion.

The vote was widely seen as an effective referendum on the issue, and Sir Keir admitted it had forced him to seek talks with the London mayor.

But, in a radio interview this morning, the Labour leader again refused to say whether he personally thought the planned ULEZ expansion should still go ahead.

It came as the revolt against Mr Khan’s plans widened, with Hertfordshire County Council telling the London mayor it won’t allow any ULEZ signage or enforcement cameras to be erected within its boundaries.

As part of its protest against the scheme, the council also threatened legal action over Mr Khan’s ULEZ expansion, which is currently the subject of judicial review. 

Sadiq Khan is pursuing plans to expand ULEZ – which charges drivers a £12.50 daily fee for vehicles not meeting minimum requirements – to all London boroughs from late August

Hertfordshire County Council has told the London mayor it won’t allow any ULEZ signage or enforcement cameras to be erected within its boundaries

Sir Keir Starmer has spoken to Mr Khan, his fellow Labour politician, about the ULEZ backlash in the wake of last week’s by-election in Uxbridge and South Ruislip

Mr Khan is pursuing plans to expand the existing ULEZ – which charges drivers a £12.50 daily fee for vehicles not meeting minimum requirements – to all London boroughs from late August.

It would see ULEZ grow to three times its current size with new borders reaching Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey.

But there has been widespread outcry at the London mayor’s plans to add to drivers’ bills during the cost-of-living crisis.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live this morning, Sir Keir admitted that people having to pay more to drive their cars during the current economic crisis would be ‘very, very difficult for many, many families’.

‘I want Sadiq to reflect on it and I’ve spoken to him,’ the Labour leader added.

‘This is being rolled out and I want him to reflect on that rollout because of the impact it’s having on people.

‘There’s a law in place, as you know, that requires the Mayor of London to take measures to reduce air pollution.

‘So, the law is actually driven by the Government and the first ULEZ scheme was actually introduced by a Tory mayor.

‘So, this has been politicised, but, actually, it is about air pollution.

‘I want him to reflect and look at the scheme, and see whether there are things that can be done to make it easier for people.

‘I spoke to him immediately after the by-election, I’d been talking to his team beforehand.’

Asked whether he and Mr Khan had shared a ‘frank exchange of views’, Sir Keir replied: ‘Yes, of course. I’ve got a lot of respect for the mayor of London, I’ve known him a very, very long time.’

Pointing to one measure that could ease the financial pain on drivers, the Labour leader added: ‘If we make it easier for them to change their car with a proper scrappage scheme, then that massively helps people… but the Government at the moment won’t do it.’

But asked whether he personally thought the ULEZ expansion should still go ahead, Sir Keir dodged the question. 

‘I realise why you’re putting this to me in this way,’ he said.

‘We can’t pretend that this is a simple political decision, you can just say “yes, no” without regard to the legal context.

‘If the law requires a measure to be taken, it is not in the gift of the mayor to say “I’m simply not going to do it”. So, he’s got to do something.

‘What I’m working with him on and asking him to reflect on is “in this scheme is there more that we can do to help people?”, and that’s an ongoing discussion.’

Earlier this month, in another BBC interview, Sir Keir had refused six times to say whether or not he backs postponing the ULEZ expansion.

ULEZ is set to expand to three times its current size with new borders reaching Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey

In a letter to Mr Khan, Hertfordshire County Council leader Richard Roberts told the London mayor his ULEZ expansion ‘cannot be supported’ by the local authority. 

Mr Roberts said his Tory-led council took the importance of tackling air pollution ‘incredibly seriously’.

But he pointed to the cost-of-living crisis, an insufficient scrappage scheme for those with non-compliant vehicles, and a lack of public transport alternatives as reasons for the council’s opposition to the current plans.

‘In Hertfordshire, many residents, families and businesses are telling us that they are dealing with the tightest squeeze on their finances in over a generation,’ he wrote.

‘The simple fact of the matter is that at this time many people with non-compliant vehicles, often the lowest paid in society cannot afford to upgrade their cars, are not eligible for the scrappage scheme and have no viable public transport alternatives.

‘With Transport for London’s plans to develop existing car parks in outer London…  the option for those in Hertfordshire who may wish to drive to a public transport node and use public transport is also being hampered.

‘Such actions create an appearance of a policy implemented in a disjointed way, which in turn leads to the suspicion that this is simply another tax grab on the motorist.’

Mr Roberts informed Mr Khan that Hertfordshire County Council will therefore ‘not permit any ULEZ signage or enforcement cameras to be located within the boundary of the county’.

He also demanded the London mayor extend the scrappage scheme to include those counties surrounding Greater London.

‘We will consider our options in relation to legal action pending the outcome of the ongoing judicial review,’ he added.

‘I would personally ask that you pause the expansion of the zone and look to redraw the zone boundary to align with outer London public transport hubs, providing those who cannot upgrade their vehicle with public transport options before having to absorb the proposed £12.50 per day cost of the expanded zone.’

A spokesperson for Mr Khan said: ‘Transport for London and City Hall are working closely and collaboratively with the local authorities concerned to install the infrastructure needed.

‘The mayor has been clear that while the decision to expand ULEZ was an incredibly difficult one, he could not stand by and do nothing while around 4,000 Londoners die prematurely each year due to air pollution, children are growing up with stunted lungs and thousands of people in our city are developing life-changing illnesses, such as cancer, lung disease, dementia and asthma.

‘Nine out of 10 cars seen driving in outer London are compliant and won’t need to pay a penny.

‘For anyone who is affected, help is available including thousands of pounds for people on low incomes, charities, small businesses, disabled Londoners and anyone in receipt of child benefit.

‘Sadiq is committed to the expansion but is always listening and is happy to look at any new ideas for ways to mitigate the impact of expanding the ULEZ on Londoners while still tackling air quality and the climate crisis.

‘He has listened to Londoners throughout this process and continues to do so – and he has already made a number of changes to expand the scrappage eligibility scheme, from the end of this month.’