London: ULEZ took effect at midnight this morning.

After 34+ years of marriage my husband and I make a good team. He went to join the protest at Downing Street  and Parliament, while I went to an outer London demonstration at Romford Town Hall in the London Borough of Havering which borders the country of Essex.

In London demonstrators gathered outside No 10. There were speeches, calls for Sadiq Khan to resign, calls for him and ULEZ to be stopped by central government (they have the power but won’t use it) and the crowd expressed their views and anger. These are some photographs of how things went.

As usual there were some interesting vehicles.

This is another.

Man’s best friend also had a part to play.

This is Piers Corbyn’s car. I’m not a fan of his brother, but he isn’t his brother. I disagree with much of what he has said, but on the matter of ULEZ we find ourselves in agreement

Also in attendance were London Mayor candidate and activist Howard Cox (above, in conversation with the motorcyclist) , Nigel Farage and left, Richard Tice, leader of the Reform Party.

My husband said it was a good turn out for a working day. This is the trouble with demonstrations. Most people still work Monday to Friday and would have to use holiday allowance to be in central London on a working day. And at the weekend when they are free the Ministers are in Chequers, or their constituencies, or elsewhere, as are the officials who advise them.

They then marched down Parliament Street, round Parliament Square and back to Downing Street.

Nobody has a good word for Sadiq Khan; he is held in utter contempt. Except a majority of those Londoners who voted, voted for him. We know he has the vote of a community sewn up, even those of it who died years ago or returned to Pakistan and Bangladesh last century. So he must be pleasing somebody?

The Telegraph has an account of both demonstrations here, and extra statements and interviews.

In Romford when I arrived the demonstration was already at Havering Town Hall where Leader of the Council Ray Morgon was equipped with a microphone and was being interrogated on Havering Council’s  disappointing response to ULEZ resistance.

Havering did not join with the 5 councils (Bexley, Bromley, Harrow, Hillingdon and Surrey) who took Transport for London and the Mayor to the High Court seeking a Judicial review to overturn ULEZ. Sadly this was not successful but another application for a injunction will be heard in September. Havering merely asked the Mayor for more time and a better scrappage scheme and the residents present at the Town Hall thought that their council could and should have done more to protect their interests.

The debate was lively, but credit must be given to Mr Morgon for coming onto the steps of the Town Hall.  Some council leaders would have stayed in their offices and sent security to usher protestors away.  However Havering Council hasn’t done as much as could be done to support local resident and businesses. The police presence was on the ‘friendly community bobby’ level. In Downing Street armed members of the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection (PaDP) were much in evidence.

The protest then returned to the Market Square (it wasn’t a market day) where the Japanese NHK news ( Nippon Housou Kyoukai or Japan Broadcasting Corporation) were reporting on the ULEZ expansion. London is now the world’s largest pollution charging area. I expect the government of Tokyo is watching with interest.

Those of us who remember events like the great smog of 1962 (which was nothing like as bad as the one in 1952) are not convinced that London’s air is so very bad. We fear that the ULEZ charge is primarily a money maker for Transport for London and a prelude to ‘Pay per Mile’

A programme of Civil disobedient continues, about which I am not going to write.

Photographs E Weatherwax and her husband London August 2023