Sadiq Khan has been accused once again of plotting to bring in a pay-per-mile charging scheme in London, after a Labour councillor said it was only ruled out "for now".
Speaking at the Future of London Transport hustings yesterday, Hackney councillor Mete Coban scrambled to justify his remarks after suggesting the ruling out of the scheme was only temporary.
Coban was asked about some remarks in the London Mayor's book Breathe, published in 2023, that says "we have plans to introduce a new, more comprehensive, road user charging system".
Conservative London Assembly member Andrew Boff said: "Either that book is right or it is wrong. Is he going to bring in pay-per-mile?
Khan has faced significant backlash for his Ulez expansion, which saw the scheme extended to cover outer London
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"Because he says so in the book and if he says no now, does that mean the rest of the book is wrong as well?"
Coban, the Hackney Council executive member for the environment and transport, responded: "Firstly that is a personal book, it is not the manifesto for London.
"I think the key thing here is that – and I want to be very clear about this – is that Sadiq has ruled out pay-per-mile for now. For now. He's ruled it out.
"He's been very clear about ruling it out".
When Boff asked if he meant the scheme was ruled out "for now until May", when the London mayoral election takes place, Coban said: "There are again what the Tories are trying to do is make it a culture war. The reality is that Sadiq Khan has done more for clean air than any other Mayor, not just in the UK but in the world."
Reacting to the back and forth, a spokesperson for Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall told GB News: "The mask has slipped, and Sadiq Khan's plans for pay per mile are as clear as day."
Coban was asked about some remarks in the London Mayor's book Breathe, published in 2023
FUTURE OF LONDON TRANSPORT
Hall added: "Sadiq Khan's pay-per-mile plans are a threat to every single family in our city, and his ally has now admitted he is only ruling it out 'for now.'
"It is an absolute disgrace that £21million of your money has secretly been spent building technology to charge Londoners for every mile you drive.
"The only way to get the Ulez expansion scrapped and stop Sadiq Khan's pay-per-mile plans is to vote for me on May 2nd."
Khan has faced significant backlash for his Ulez expansion, which saw the scheme extended to cover outer London.
He has previously ruled out introducing pay-per-mile in London, accusing Susan Hall's team of spreading "misinformation" around the issue.
However, Sadiq Khan's transport strategy appears to commit the Mayor to conducted a review of road user charging schemes, which could involve the introduction of a pay-per-mile style levy.
The strategy report was published in 2018 and revised in 2022. It says: "These could replace schemes such as the Congestion Charge, Low Emission Zone and Ultra Low Emission Zone.
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"In doing so, the Mayor will consider the appropriate technology for any future schemes, and the potential for a future scheme that reflects distance, time, emissions, road danger and other factors in an integrated way."
Last week, a spokesman for Khan said: "This is absolute nonsense from a Tory party desperate to distract from their 14 years of failure, and is categorically untrue.
"Sadiq has definitively ruled out pay-per-mile. Pay-per-mile was first proposed in Boris Johnson's transport strategy when he was mayor."
