PRESS RELEASE : Nearly twice as many Londoners support expansion of the ULEZ [October 2022]

The press release issued by the Mayor of London on 10 October 2022.

• 51 per cent of Londoners believe the proposed expansion of the ULEZ should be implemented compared with 27 per cent who think it shouldn’t.
• Same percentage of Londoners as last year see the ULEZ as positive (54 per cent), demonstrating that support has not been affected by the cost-of-living crisis
• There are a quarter of million people with asthma in outer London who are still breathing toxic air

Nearly twice as many Londoners believe the Mayor’s proposed expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone should go ahead than oppose it, a representative YouGov poll commissioned by City Hall has revealed. [1].

Tackling toxic air in London is a top priority for the Mayor, which is why he is proposing to expand the ULEZ London-wide. The proposed expansion would come into effect in August 2023 and would improve air quality for five million more Londoners and help tackle the climate emergency.

Polling shows 51 per cent of Londoners believe the ULEZ expansion should go ahead, compared to 27 per cent who do not.

Almost two thirds (62 per cent) of Londoners without access to a garden or private outdoor space are keen for the ULEZ to expand and half of these want it to be implemented sooner.

Implementation of the ULEZ expansion is even more popular among those under 50, where 56 per cent say they support it compared to 21 per cent who oppose.

Overall, fifty four per cent of Londoners see the ULEZ as positive, and this percentage hasn’t changed since polling in 2021, revealing that the ongoing cost of living crisis has not swayed the support of Londoners for the ULEZ.[2]

Around 4,000 Londoners died prematurely in 2019 because of long-term exposure to air pollution, with the greatest number of deaths attributable to air pollution in outer London boroughs.[3] Air pollution is also permanently stunting children’s lungs and leading adults to suffer a range of illnesses, including lung and heart disease. Over 500,000 Londoners live with asthma and are more vulnerable to the impacts of toxic air, with more than half of these people living in outer London boroughs. While those living in central London are breathing cleaner air due to the ULEZ, with roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels down by 44 per cent, those in outer boroughs are not benefiting to the same extent. The Mayor has been called on to make this fairer by expanding the ULEZ London-wide.

The Mayor believes air quality is also a matter of social justice, with air pollution hitting the poorest communities as well as Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities the hardest. The polling reveals a clear majority (55 per cent) of ethnic minority Londoners think the ULEZ expansion should be implemented – almost three times (20 per cent) those who don’t.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said:   

“Air pollution in our city is contributing to children growing up with stunted lungs and older Londoners developing dementia.

“The ULEZ has already made a big difference – reducing air pollution by nearly half in central London and helping us to tackle the climate emergency. It’s clear that Londoners now want the zone to be expanded given the immense harm air pollution is still causing in our city – from cancer to dementia. Expansion of the ULEZ would lead to five million more people being able to breathe cleaner, less polluted air.

“In making my decision I will carefully consider all responses to the public consultation and Londoners’ views.”

“I don’t want us to miss out on any opportunities to protect Londoners from toxic air so that we can continue building a healthier, cleaner and greener London for everyone.”

Ruth Fitzharris, Mums for Lungs said “As a parent of a six-year-old child with asthma in outer London, I am really glad to see that many Londoners are in favour of a bigger ULEZ, which will benefit the health of so many children living here. One in ten kids in London have asthma. One third of those cases are caused by air pollution! All kids in London are negatively affected by air pollution and they really need to breathe clean air now”.