Sadiq Khan has vowed to push ahead with his controversial Ulez expansion after being blamed for saving the Tories from a three-part by-election humiliation.
The Conservative Party managed to hold on to Boris Johnson’s former constituency of Uxbridge & South Ruislip by just 495 votes as Hillingdon Borough Councillor Steve Tuckwell edged out Labour’s Danny Beales.
Johnson won the seat for a third-time in 2019 with a majority of 7,210 but Labour looked poised to gain the west London seat as the Tories continue to flounder in the opinion polls.
However, Khan’s plan to expand his Ulez scheme to outer London provoked a backlash at the ballot box.
Tuckwell said: “It was his damaging and costly Ulez policy that lost them this election.”
The two-time London Mayor fired back against his critics just hours after results from Uxbridge & South Ruislip, Selby & Ainsty and Somerton & Frome came in.
Khan said clean air was a “human right, not a privilege”.
He added: “Of course I am disappointed this seat, which has never been Labour in my lifetime, didn’t go Labour last night.
“Obviously, I welcome the seven per cent swing to Labour in this outer London seat. We’re determined to clear the air.”
The controversial move from City Hall will force motorists driving vehicles which fail to meet emissions standards to cough up a daily charge of £12.50.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer even warned Ulez was the “reason we didn’t win there yesterday”.
He added: “We’ve all got to reflect on that, including the Mayor.”
Johnson, who was Khan’s predecessor at City Hall, also celebrated yesterday’s result as it dealt London’s Mayor a major electoral blow ahead of next year’s election.
Despite success in Uxbridge & South Ruislip, the Tory Party were routed in Selby & Ainsty and Somerton & Frome.
Labour’s 25-year-old candidate Keir Mather won by 4,000 votes in North Yorkshire, with a swing of 23.7 per cent.
The Liberal Democrats also romped to victory in Somerset.
Sir Ed Davey celebrated in Somerton & Frome, which last returned a Liberal Democrat MP in 2010, after Sarah Dyke overturned the Conservative Party’s 19,000 majority to win by 11,000 ballots.
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