The ULEZ debate is settled in the eyes of voters according to the Labour candidate re-elected to represent Brent & Harrow in the London Assembly.
Krupesh Hirani was re-elected with 63,867 votes, compared to Conservative candidate Stefan Bucovineanul-Voloseniuc who got 55,039.
And he felt his election and that of Labour’s Sadiq Khan to a third term as London mayor meant it was time to move on from talking about ULEZ.
Hirani said: “The results across London are emphatic.
“When I spoke to residents in Brent & Harrow even since the polls closed, they’ve been telling me they already have ULEZ-compliant cars so this election is about what the mayoral candidate is going to do going forward.
“Many who I spoke to were more interested in our policies to freeze fares or free schools meals, keeping that policy across London.
“Ultimately residents wanted to know what candidates were going to do going forward, nine out of 10 cars in London are ULEZ-compliant.”
But Conservative officials have remained critical and doubtful of Khan and Labour’s promises about ULEZ.
Paul Osborn, the Conservative leader of Harrow Council, said: “I still think ULEZ is a very regressive way of taxing people which generally tends to impact the poorest motorists.”
Before the results for the London Mayor election came in Osborn claimed Khan would be pushing pay-by-mile robustly if he won a third term.
Hirani also said he wants to focus more on local transport services such as more Superloop buses within the area.
He further expressed hope and certainty for the next general election saying the Labour government is the change this country is in dire need of.
“This is just one step towards the next step,” he added.
“We now will have a Labour Mayor in London. You have your local London assembly member here re-elected to Brent & Harrow.
“But imagine the difference we’ll make with a Labour government.”
Despite Labour’s victory in the London Assembly and Khan winning the London mayor election overall, Conservative candidate Susan Hall received the most votes in Brent & Harrow, receiving 66,151 votes compared to 58,743 in support of Khan.
This is the second time in succession Brent & Harrow has voted for a Conservative mayor, with Shaun Bailey’s getting the most votes in 2021 with 65,566 votes.
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