Sadiq Khan vowed to push on with his hated ULEZ expansion today despite Labour figures complaining it wrecked their efforts to seize Uxbridge & South Ruislip from the Tories.
The London Mayor dismissed concerns after Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner joined calls to look again at the plans to expand the driver charging zone.
He pointedly said that the seat had ‘never been Labour in my lifetime’, insisting the £12.50 a day levy will ‘clear the air’ in the capital.
Mr Khan was branded the ‘loser of the night’ after the Tories unexpectedly clung on to Boris Johnson’s old seat by 500 votes.
However, the wider picture for Mr Sunak was grim – with the alarming sight of Labour comfortably overturning a massive majority to gain the former stronghold of Selby & Ainsty.
The Conservatives were also trounced by the Liberal Democrats in Somerton & Frome as their 19,000-vote margin from the last general election crumbled.
The Tories’ new Uxbridge MP Steve Tuckwell credited his victory to the unpopularity of ULEZ.
And speaking in Selby, Sir Keir said: ‘Ulez was the reason we didn’t win there yesterday.
‘We know that. We heard that on the doors. And we’ve all got to reflect on that, including the mayor.’
Sir Keir was asked what ‘reflect’ meant and whether it meant the scheme should now be scrapped.
He said: ‘We’ve got to look at the result. The mayor needs to reflect. And it’s too early to say what should happen next.’
