Majority of Britons oppose Ulez-style charges in their area with threat of daily £12.50 cost

Cars in front of a Ulez sign

The Ulez scheme is expanding in London today

PA
Felix Reeves

By Felix Reeves


Published: 29/08/2023

- 08:42

London’s Ulez expansion is being rolled out today with thousands of extra drivers facing daily charges

Just one in four motorists support the idea of an Ultra Low Emission Zone scheme being rolled out in their area, according to a new poll.

A People Polling survey, commissioned exclusively by GB News, has found that only 10 per cent were "strongly supportive" of such a scheme.


A further 15 per cent said they supported a Ulez-style scheme being expanded to their area, with an additional 20 per cent saying they didn't know or preferred not to say.

In contrast, 42 per cent said they “strongly oppose” the idea while an additional 12 per cent “somewhat opposed” the idea - meaning 54 percent are against the idea of an expansion.

A Ulez sign

A majority of drivers are against introducing Ulez-style schemes in their areas

PA

The poll also found that motorists around the country were skeptical about the expansion of London's Ulez.

Almost one-third of survey respondents said they supported the scheme in London, while 42 per cent opposed the idea.

The emissions-based charging zone, which has been described as "anti-motorist", is being expanded today, with all drivers inside Greater London now being affected.

Drivers of petrol and diesel vehicles which produce a high amount of carbon emissions are charged £12.50 to drive in the area.

Commenting on the findings, politics expert Professor Matthew Goodwin highlighted the impact it would have on motorists in their everyday lives.

He added: “What these results show is that the ULEZ scheme is nowhere near as popular among ordinary voters, as many people in the elite seem to think it is.

"In our latest polling, we find a large number of voters are not supportive of the Ulez scheme, and certainly do not want one in their immediate local area.

"Furthermore, we find that while voters are instinctively on board with the net zero agenda, and tackling climate change, when they are asked to choose between dealing with these issues and facing personal financial costs, they become much less supportive."

To mark the expansion of the Ulez scheme in the capital, GB News will be presenting a series of special programmes on August 29 investigating what people think about the potential for it to soon be expanded widely outside of London.

Throughout Tuesday’s show, the channel will present special reports from London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, where similar schemes already operate, to gauge opinion and provide expert analysis.

People were also polled on the topic of net zero and whether the Government should prioritise helping slash carbon emissions even if this increases the cost of living for ordinary people.

In the same statement, Britons were asked whether the Government should prioritise keeping the cost of living as low as possible, even if this means it has to do less to help the UK reach net zero carbon emissions.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

A Ulez sign

Drivers of non-compliant vehicles will be charged £12.50 per day

PA

Around sixteen percent of people said they thought the Government should prioritise net zero, while 54 percent said combatting the cost of living crisis should be the main priority.

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