The five councils that initiated the legal battle – Bexley, Bromley, Harrow, Hillingdon, and Surrey – have been granted permission to proceed with their judicial review case.
The Ulez zone currently covers the area between the North and South Circular roads, but the Mayor plans to expand it to cover the entirety of Greater London on August 29.
However, with a trial scheduled for July, this may now be jeopardised. One Conservative MP described today’s decision as a’significant step forward’ in the protest.
The five councils were successful in advancing the case after the High Court ruled that two of the allegations raised had sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.
These include a failure to follow statutory procedures and a failure to consider the possibility of including non-Londoners in a new scrappage scheme.
The High Court has now ruled there is sufficient evidence that Sadiq Khan’s Ulez decision may have been unlawful,’ said Nick Rogers, City Hall Conservatives’ transport spokesman.
‘The Mayor clearly lacks the legal justification to pursue his Ulez tax plans, which would take money from charities, small businesses, and low-income Londoners who cannot afford a new car. Sadiq Khan should do the right thing and halt work on his Ulez expansion immediately and explain his actions to the court.
Owners of non-compliant vehicles are charged £12.50 per day to drive within the zone, according to the policy.
The plan has been widely criticized, with claims that it does little to improve air quality and will harm families and tradespeople who rely on automobiles.
Even some London Labour MPs have spoken out against it, warning that it could drive key workers and others who rely on vehicles out of the city.
Gareth Bacon, Conservative MP for Orpington, stated today, ‘While the full legal case must still be fought, today’s decision is a significant step forward.
‘Sadiq Khan arrogantly dismissed this legal challenge, just like he ignored outer Londoners’ concerns during the consultation,’ he added.
‘He was wrong, and this should serve as a wake-up call. He still has time to cancel Ulez expansion and save residents £12.50 per day on their road tax.’
The decision by the High Court was a ‘big first win!’ said Louie French, Tory MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, adding, ‘#Khanmustgo.
The five boroughs filed the judicial review on February 16, following Transport for London’s announcement last November that Ulez would be expanded.
The first challenge relating to’statutory procedures’ examined how the Mayor intends to expand Ulez by modifying the existing scheme.
This was done in accordance with Schedule 23 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999, which allows for the creation of “charging schemes.”
The councils, however, stated that while this allows such a scheme to be changed, the proposed changes are so significant that they amount to an entirely new scheme.
The second point concerns the proposed £110 million scrappage scheme, which would provide financial assistance to eligible Londoners in order for them to scrap their most polluting vehicles in order to prepare for the Ulez expansion.
The councils claimed that details of the scheme were only made public after his decision to expand Ulez and were not subject to prior consultation.
They also claim that the decision to limit the scheme to residents of London was made without consultation.
However, a spokeswoman for Mr Khan pointed out that three of the five council claims had already been rejected outright, and the scrappage claim had only been partially granted on a single point.
The Mayor is pleased to see the court has refused permission for the majority of the grounds,’ said the spokeswoman. We will continue to vigorously defend his life-saving decision to expand the Ulez and will proceed with preparations as soon as possible.
‘It is unfortunate that some local governments have chosen to pursue this costly and misguided legal challenge rather than focusing on the health of those they represent.
‘Every year, approximately 4,000 Londoners die prematurely as a result of air pollution. This is a public health emergency, and the Mayor will not stand by and do nothing while Londoners grow up with stunted lungs and are more susceptible to heart disease, cancer, and dementia as a result of our toxic air.
She stated that permission to file the scrappage claim was only granted on the condition that whether the Mayor properly considered the previous “buffer zone” approach was a “material consideration.”
The spokeswoman said it was ‘on the cusp’ of being arguable, and permission was also denied on the other aspects of that claim.
However, Mr Khan’s plans for the Ulez expansion have sparked significant controversy, and he has even claimed that Nazis have infiltrated anti-Ulez protests.
Last month, the Mayor claimed that ‘anti-vaxxers, Covid deniers, conspiracy theorists, and Nazis’ had joined ‘decent Tories’ in opposing the extension.
Mr Khan also sparked outrage when he called some Ulez opponents ‘far-Right’ during a public meeting at Ealing Town Hall last month, during which he was heckled.
Former London mayor and prime minister Boris Johnson has also expressed concern about the plans, claiming that Mr Khan will “hit hardworking families and businesses in outer London with an unfair tax grab.
