More Londoners support the expansion of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone to the whole of Greater London than oppose it, according to the first opinion poll of the issue published since the measure came into effect yesterday.
A survey by YouGov, which was conducted between 9-14 August, just prior to the change, found that 47 per cent of Londoners supported the then impending enlargement beyond the North and South Circular roads, compared to 42 per cent who opposed it and 11 per cent who didn’t know.
There were different balances of opinion between inner and outer Londoners however, with far stronger support in inner London at 62 per cent against 26 per cent opposed, than in outer Londoner where those opposed outnumbered those in favour by the narrower margin of 51 per cent to 38 per cent.
The overall lead among those supporting the expansion is smaller than in two previous polls asking essentially the same question, the most recent of which, conducted by Redfield & Wilton in June, put Londoners in favour ahead by 47 per cent to 32 per cent. An earlier YouGov poll, carried out in July 2022, found that 51 per cent supported the expansion while 27 per cent were against it.
The new poll was carried out following weeks of aggressive attacks on the expansion plan and criticism of Sadiq Khan by right-wing media and politicians.
More than half of those who said they were opposed to the expansion (51 per cent) told YouGov they supported the vandalism of Transport for London cameras needed for the scheme that had taken place.
The Conservative MP for Chingford & Woodford Green, Iain Duncan Smith, a former leader of his party, was quoted in a newspaper today saying that a lot of people in his constituency had been “cementing up the cameras or putting plastic bags over them” and that he was “happy for them to do it”.
However, a majority of Londoners – 51 per cent – said they were against such vandalism, compared with 32 per cent who said they supported it and 17 per cent who said they didn’t know.
The poll also asked what Londoners thought about the level of support the Mayor was providing for those with non-compliant vehicles. Surveyed a week or so after Khan announced that all such Londoners would be eligible for up to £2,000 from his scrappage scheme, with larger sums than previously available to groups who already qualified, 50 per cent said he “should be doing more”, with 26 per cent saying he was doing “everything he reasonably can” and 24 per cent saying they didn’t know.
More detail about the YouGov poll here. X/Twitter: On London and Dave Hill. If you value On London and its writers, become a supporter or a paid subscriber to Dave Hill’s Substack for just £5 a month or £50 a year.
The difference between those living in the foggy/smoggy soup bowl that is Inner London and those living on the outer slopes (and beyond) of its surrounding hills (Blackheath and Shooters Hill, the Great Northwood/Crystal Palace, Acton Hill to the West and High Gate etc to the North) is rational and more “scientific” than the special pleadings of self -interested academics that have now been exposed for what they were. I used to cycle in to work from Acton (using the tow path of the canal which runs parallel to the A40) and from my attic window (in a house of the summit of that relatively modest “hill” could look east and south across that soup bowl.
Meanwhile guzzling old bangers are exempt. I can see a whole new industry in the creation of a Havanna style, ULEX exempt, taxi and home delivery service, using 40 year old survivors and rebuilds. Is that to be the legacy of Mayor Khan?