‘You can do this in a different way’: Andy Burnham takes a dig at Sadiq Khan as he vows never to have a ULEZ-style scheme in Greater Manchester while he’s mayor
Andy Burnham has vowed never to have a clean air charging zone in Greater Manchester while he is mayor of the city region.
In a riposte to his fellow Labour mayor Sadiq Khan – who recently expanded London’s £12.50-a-day Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) – Mr Burnham insisted air pollution could be tackled ‘in a different way’.
An original plan to charge road users in Greater Manchester from May last year was ‘paused’ in the months before its scheduled introduction.
The Government agreed to postpone a deadline for the city region to bring air pollution levels down below legal limits.
Mr Burnham has now reiterated his opposition to reviving the scheme as he demanded more investment to boost the number of electric vehicles on Greater Manchester streets.
Andy Burnham has vowed never to have a clean air charging zone in Greater Manchester while he is mayor of the city region.
In a riposte to his fellow Labour mayor Sadiq Khan – who recently expanded London’s £12.50-a-day ULEZ scheme – Mr Burnham insisted air pollution could be tackled ‘in a different way’
‘We are saying you can do this in a different way,’ he told GB News.
‘As long as I’m mayor, no, I will not have a charging zone, either a congestion charge scheme or a clean air style scheme.
‘The reason being the North of England has never had the investment in transport to allow some people to live without their car.’
The mayor this week celebrated the launch of Greater Manchester’s ‘Bee Network’ – similar to London’s ‘Oyster’ scheme – which includes a fleet of new electric buses.
Mr Burnham said the purchase of more zero-emissions buses – along with investment to help the electrification of taxis across Greater Manchester – could see the city region avoid the need for a charging scheme to meet legal air pollution limits.
He said: ‘We are confident, and the evidence backs this up, that if the Government was to back the Bee Network – i.e. help us bring in more electric buses into service across the city region.
‘But if it was also to back us with investment to help our taxis improve, our hackney cabs upgrade, we can do it via an investment-led approach, rather than a charging-based approach.
‘Can we now then agree that a clean air zone is not right for Greater Manchester, a charging zone.’
Mr Burnham called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is travelling to Manchester for the Tories’ annual conference this weekend, to use Greater Manchester as an example of how green targets can be met without pushing costs onto households.
‘Prime Minister, you can come here this weekend, you can back the Bee Network with the investment it needs, you can back the taxi industry with the investment it needs, and you could of have an example of saying “this is how you get to Net Zero, but in a fairer way for the public”,’ he added.
‘Greater Manchester is your opportunity.’
Source: Read Full Article