In three months, London will go to the polls to elect its next mayor. In a year with so many decisive elections, the mayoral vote receives surprisingly little attention. Two-term incumbent Sadiq Khan has failed Londoners badly on crime, disorder and public transport and has chosen to wage war on motorists. Mr Khan’s third term is certain to lead to further restrictions on law-abiding road users, among many other poor decisions.
Despite Labor’s significant lead in the polls, Mr Khan’s victory is not inevitable. Both the Urez expansion and the Low Traffic Area (LTN) initiative have already proven to be unpopular across large swaths of the capital, upsetting electoral expectations. There is still time for the Conservatives to put all their efforts behind candidate Susan Hall and run a winning campaign.
The latest evidence of Khan’s further escalation of his war on London’s motorists can be seen in Project Detroit, which is being developed at a cost expected to reach £150 million. Project Detroit is designed to bring technology in-house to implement existing road-use charging schemes. The worry is that the system is designed to be reused in the future to operate mile-based road tolls across London.
In theory, road pricing is an efficient way to charge drivers for the infrastructure they rely on. Plans in France, Florida and Singapore all show that possibility. However, this only works in the hands of administrators who want to keep traffic flowing. In the hands of an eco-zealous, class-divisive warrior like Khan, it will inevitably be used to set punitive tolls to drive motorists off the road altogether.
Khan has made it clear that he will not introduce road pricing while he is mayor. But he cannot be trusted to keep his word, as has already been shown by reversing Ures’ expansion plan.
Mr Khan’s new term will trigger his worst instincts and spell disaster for London’s drivers. Conservative Party headquarters needs to find new gear.
In three months, London will go to the polls to elect its next mayor. In a year with so many decisive elections, the mayoral vote receives surprisingly little attention. Two-term incumbent Sadiq Khan has failed Londoners badly on crime, disorder and public transport and has chosen to wage war on motorists. Mr Khan’s third term is certain to lead to further restrictions on law-abiding road users, among many other poor decisions.
Despite Labor’s significant lead in the polls, Mr Khan’s victory is not inevitable. Both the Urez expansion and the Low Traffic Area (LTN) initiative have already proven to be unpopular across large swaths of the capital, upsetting electoral expectations. There is still time for the Conservatives to put all their efforts behind candidate Susan Hall and run a winning campaign.
The latest evidence of Khan’s further escalation of his war on London’s motorists can be seen in Project Detroit, which is being developed at a cost expected to reach £150 million. Project Detroit is designed to bring technology in-house to implement existing road-use charging schemes. The worry is that the system is designed to be reused in the future to operate mile-based road tolls across London.
In theory, road pricing is an efficient way to charge drivers for the infrastructure they rely on. Plans in France, Florida and Singapore all show that possibility. However, this only works in the hands of administrators who want to keep traffic flowing. In the hands of an eco-zealous, class-divisive warrior like Khan, it will inevitably be used to set punitive tolls to drive motorists off the road altogether.
Khan has made it clear that he will not introduce road pricing while he is mayor. But he cannot be trusted to keep his word, as has already been shown by reversing Ures’ expansion plan.
Mr Khan’s new term will trigger his worst instincts and spell disaster for London’s drivers. Conservative Party headquarters needs to find new gear.