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A future Conservative government is set to introduce new legislation to scrap the expansion of London’s low emission zones, block blankets and low traffic areas.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has promised to bring forward new driver assistance legislation in his first King Speech if his Conservative Party wins an unexpected victory in the upcoming general election.
Under the proposed legislation, the Conservatives would halt the introduction of a mileage-based road tax, abolish flat-rate LTNs and 20mph speed limit zones, and reverse the expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone.
The Prime Minister hopes that his promise of new laws that explicitly support motorists will win the support of voters, particularly those outside London, where the Ulez expansion issue is a key political battleground.
The Conservatives adopted the pro-car approach after successfully retaining the seat once held by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in last July’s Uxbridge and West Ruislip by-election.
But there will likely be doubts within the Conservative party about how successful such a proposal would be with voters, given that the Conservative London mayoral candidate Susan Hall led a similar campaign and failed.
Proposals to block taxing drivers on the miles they drive are also likely to dismay many civil servants, especially since Mr Sunak actively considered the policy during his time as chancellor in 2020.
Experts and officials believe such a tax is likely to be needed in future as more people switch to electric vehicles and revenue from fuel and road taxes dries up. Labour has said it has no plans to introduce such a policy.
Announcing the plans, Mr Sunak said: “We stand with drivers, which is why we have clear plans to bring down the cost of driving and ensure people have the freedom to drive they need to get on with their daily lives.”
“We will empower drivers and local residents to challenge aggressive and punitive traffic control measures, such as low-volume zones, that are imposed without local consent.”
The Conservatives adopted a pro-car approach after successfully retaining Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s old seat in the Uxbridge and West Ruislip by-election.
The bill to ban uniform 20mph speed limit zones also applies to Wales, with the Welsh Government introducing new speed limits on residential roads across the country.
“We will continue to build a clear plan for drivers and make sure they are supported as Labor politicians try desperately to tax drivers,” Transport Minister Mark Harper said.
“We will revoke Sadiq Khan’s unfair widening of Ulez Road and abolish 20mph speed limit zones in favour of drivers. We will also abolish kilometres-based road tax to keep costs down for drivers.”