Mayor of London Sadiq Khan backs scheme to send 4x4s to Ukraine in apparent major U-turn
The Mayor of London has pledged his support to send 4x4s to Ukraine that would otherwise be scrapped under the city’s ULEZ scheme.
Sadiq Khan had previously blocked cars that were not ULEZ compliant from being sent to the country, saying he did not believe altering the environmental scheme for exports was possible under current laws.
But now, Mr Khan has asked Transport Secretary Mark Harper to allow Londoners – and others across the UK – to donate suitable vehicles to Ukraine through scrappage schemes.
Under the scheme’s plan, which came into force in August, Londoners with vehicles that fall foul of emission standards can claim up to £2,000 when their non-compliant vehicles are scrapped.
In a letter, jointly sent to Mr Harper by Mr Khan and former defence secretary Ben Wallace, ministers are urged to give motorists “money for taking polluting vehicles off our cities’ streets while providing vital support towards the people of Ukraine”.
“We understand there is a particular requirement for 4×4 vehicles, as well as emergency service vehicles,” it says.
Mr Khan and Mr Wallace said they had reached their conclusion following “conversations with the mayor’s office in Kyiv and other partners.”
It was previously reported by The Telegraph that Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, had written to his London counterpart to suggest the idea as part of the ULEZ scrappage scheme.
“This could be most quickly done by altering the national regulations for the Certificate of Destruction, which is required as proof that a vehicle has been permanently scrapped, to instead enable the export of suitable vehicles to Ukraine via a registered charity or national scheme,” the letter said.
“We recognise that any such change would need cross-departmental co-ordination within government, not least to ensure that any vehicles sent to Ukraine meet their needs.”
Mr Harper has since responded, saying Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove has written to the mayor “seeking clarity from you on precisely what legal barriers you believe you face”.
He added in the letter that once the further information has been provided, his officials will “of course be ready to support in identifying options to resolve this matter”.
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Politics
Heidi Alexander says ‘fairness’ will be government’s ‘guiding principle’ when it comes to taxes at next budget
Another hint that tax rises are coming in this autumn’s budget has been given by a senior minister.
Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander was asked if Sir Keir Starmer and the rest of the cabinet had discussed hiking taxes in the wake of the government’s failed welfare reforms, which were shot down by their own MPs.
Trevor Phillips asked specifically if tax rises were discussed among the cabinet last week – including on an away day on Friday.
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Tax increases were not discussed “directly”, Ms Alexander said, but ministers were “cognisant” of the challenges facing them.
Asked what this means, Ms Alexander added: “I think your viewers would be surprised if we didn’t recognise that at the budget, the chancellor will need to look at the OBR forecast that is given to her and will make decisions in line with the fiscal rules that she has set out.
“We made a commitment in our manifesto not to be putting up taxes on people on modest incomes, working people. We have stuck to that.”
Ms Alexander said she wouldn’t comment directly on taxes and the budget at this point, adding: “So, the chancellor will set her budget. I’m not going to sit in a TV studio today and speculate on what the contents of that budget might be.
“When it comes to taxation, fairness is going to be our guiding principle.”
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Afterwards, shadow home secretary Chris Philp told Phillips: “That sounds to me like a barely disguised reference to tax rises coming in the autumn.”
He then went on to repeat the Conservative attack lines that Labour are “crashing the economy”.
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Chris Philp also criticsed the government’s migration deal with France
Mr Philp then attacked the prime minister as “weak” for being unable to get his welfare reforms through the Commons.
Discussions about potential tax rises have come to the fore after the government had to gut its welfare reforms.
Sir Keir had wanted to change Personal Independence Payments (PIP), but a large Labour rebellion forced him to axe the changes.
With the savings from these proposed changes – around £5bn – already worked into the government’s sums, they will now need to find the money somewhere else.
The general belief is that this will take the form of tax rises, rather than spending cuts, with more money needed for military spending commitments, as well as other areas of priority for the government, such as the NHS.
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