Member Article

Cabbies plot congestion protest as Khan calls for tough action on pollution

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called on the government to ‘stop passing the buck’ on toxic air and called for more decisive action in tackling London’s air pollution problems.

Amongst his demands include a national diesel scrappage scheme, a new Clair Air Act, additional powers for the Mayor to tackle air pollution and greater funding for City Hall to fund initiatives to tackle toxic air.

Since assuming office, Khan has announced a number of measures to tackle London’s poor air quality and made the issue one of the central tenets of his mandate.

Earlier in the year he announced a new T-charge for the most polluting cars passing through the capital’s congestion zone which will be introduced next year, Khan also brought forward to introduction of the new Ultra Low Emission Zone from 2020 to 2019.

However, in today’s announcement, the Mayor has argued that only the government can truly lead on the matter due to the policy moves at its disposal.

His calls comes after the High Court ruled in favour of environmental lawyers ClientEarth last week, which deemed that the government had broken law by failing to properly tackle illegal levels of air pollution in the capital.

Khan said: “After years of failure we now need the Government to get a grip and face up to their responsibilities rather than pass the buck to me and boroughs.

“Let’s be clear, filthy air is causing‎ 9,400 deaths every year in London alone. And that’s before you look at all the other health problems caused to Londoners.

“We need action now to protect Londoners and people all across the UK from breathing in toxic fumes.

“The Government has been seriously complacent about this health emergency for the last six years and now is the time for them to stop gambling with our health and show real leadership.”

At the same time, three of London’s biggest taxi cab unions have arranged a protest outside Whitehall at 2pm tomorrow to further pressure the government into action on pollution and congestion.

The United Cabbies Group (UCG), London Cab Drivers Club and RMT are all calling for a public inquiry into Transport for London’s (TFL) handling of the city’s transport infrastructure, claiming that the transport body has not done enough to prevent rising pollution levels and gridlocked traffic.

According to City AM, Len Martin of UCG said that the unions are expecting a turnout in the thousands as cabbies look to voice their displeasure at TfL’s inaction.

He said: “It’s about congestion, pollution, public health and loss of revenue. Because of the state of the roads, London is grinding to a halt, air quality is at an all-time low.

“And it’s affecting everyone in London, not just cabbies. It’s becoming untenable… It’s getting worse and needs to be looked at with a public inquiry.”