London voter poll: ULEZ not ‘net zero’, not a big issue

The polling also found that voters understand ULEZ to be an air pollution issue, rather than a net zero measure, despite some commentary confusing the two. Just a third (32%) said the policy was aimed at achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions, compared to almost two-thirds (62%) who said it was to improve air quality.

The poll also found that a clear majority (59%) of Londoners are concerned about air pollution compared to around a third (35%) who are not very or not at all concerned.

Alasdair Johnstone of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “Clearly some people have felt impacted by the expansion of the ULEZ zone, but the vast majority of Londoners understand this is an air pollution, not a net zero policy.

“The efforts in some quarters to talk up a ‘war on motorists’ after the Uxbridge by-election and conflate the net zero target with the ULEZ have not seemed to have cut through. Recent rhetoric and attempts to create wedge issues just don’t seem to have worked.

“Whatever the result turns out to be on Saturday, voters in London are much more likely to have voted on issues of housing and crime than on hot-topic debates like ULEZ”.

Four-fifths (82%) of Londoners who said they were likely to vote at Thursday’s election support the UK’s net zero target.