Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London

Sir Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party.

23rd July 2023.

Dear Sadiq Khan and Sir Keir Starmer

As health professionals who see the devastating health consequences of air pollution daily, we implore you to stand firm in your commitment to expand ULEZ to benefit the people of outer London.

As you know, pollution from vehicle emissions causes between 28,000 and 36,000 excess deaths annually in the UK along with untold morbidity.

Air pollution affects every one of us from before we are born into old age. It not only causes respiratory conditions such as asthma, but also heart attacks, heart arrhythmias, strokes, child developmental disorders, lung cancer and dementia

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-pollution-applying-all-our-health/air-pollution-applying-all-ourhealth#:~:text=The%20annual%20mortality%20of%20human,and%2036%2C000%20deaths%20every%20year.

ULEZ works:

https://www.london.gov.uk/new-report-reveals-transformational-impact-expanded-ultra-low-emission-zone-so-far#:~:text=The%20central%20London%20ULEZ%20had,6%20percent%20in%20the%20zone

It has already saved lives and prevented many illnesses and hospital admissions.

Vehicle emissions from the burning of fossil fuels not only create air pollution, they also contain greenhouse gases. The world is heating up at an unprecedented rate. Leading British Climate Scientist Professor Sir Bob Watson has told us that the target to limit global warming to 1.5C will be missed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-66256101

You cannot allow a vocal minority, who ignore the science to suit their own ends, to intimidate you into watering down or pausing the scheme. Doing so may buy you some votes from those people, but at what cost? Ironically, the very people calling for ULEZ expansion to be delayed would benefit from a reduction in the toxic pollution they breathe every day. To cow-tow to those who shout loudest is a dangerous precedent, and risks alienating hundreds of thousands of others who may feel that there is no point in voting for Labour if you can’t stick to any of the promises you have made on public health policies.

The science is unequivocal and we, the people, need our politicians to heed it and act accordingly. We look to you to show strength and leadership, to do the right thing, rather than cynically chase a few votes. We implore you not to ignore the needs of the majority, particularly those in the most deprived areas. Ella Kissi Debrah had no choice about the air she breathed, with devastating consequences. At the inquest the coroner said "if it wasn't for the illegal levels of pollution Ella would not have developed asthma nor died on that fatal night". Her mother, her siblings, and many unnamed others need you to stand firm and not back down.

We implore you, be the politicians we need you to be. Be bold, do what is right, not what seems immediately politically expedient. The medical community stand with you. Patients suffering from preventable pollution-driven illness stand with you. People who are already suffering from the ravages of climate change stand with you.

History will certainly judge you.

Yours sincerely,