I chair a Labour Party branch. I believe Starmer is wrong about ULEZ

The by-election in Uxbridge and South Ruislip has left many feeling deflated. Victory in Boris Johnson’s home turf would have been symbolically momentous – for the Labour Party and the country.

There is little doubt that the Tories won it in part over the expansion of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) – a policy due to be rolled out by London mayor Sadiq Khan that will impact some (but perhaps not that many) residents who rely on old, polluting cars to get around.

Fallout over the loss has sparked fierce debate about how Labour should respond. Should the party ditch its commitment to green policies on the grounds that they aren’t popular with the public?

In politics, answers aren’t always straightforward. But in this case, the only reasonable response is an unequivocal no.

Policies like ULEZ are crucial to clean up our environment and protect human life. Without them, we’ll remain trapped in a high-polluting, high-carbon society, firmly on the path to continue degrading the natural environment we depend on.

There are few who understand this better than Labour Party members. In conversations in my constituency and elsewhere, the view is almost entirely unanimous: the Labour leadership needs to go big on green policy; now is not the time to be timid on the biggest existential issues of our times.

It’s unclear what the Labour Party leadership really thinks about ULEZ – but Starmer’s quip that London mayor Sadiq Khan should “reflect” on the policy indicates a less-than-committed position. Elsewhere, the party’s flagship £28bn pledge in capital spending would be transformative – but once again, its communications have been confused by shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves’ later watering down of that commitment.

Green policy needs to be delivered in a way that is distributionally fair and doesn’t leave already vulnerable people worse off

What went wrong with ULEZ? In its current form, it will hit the finances of some cash-strapped people. This is the result of an inadequate scrappage scheme to help people transition to cleaner cars. But responsibility for this shortcoming does not lie with Sadiq Khan. It is the result of the Tory government’s cynical refusal to properly fund a decent support scheme. The Tories sensed they could accumulate political capital by doing so, and shamelessly adopted such a strategy despite the human costs.

For Labour, the first lesson to learn is straightforward: green policy needs to be delivered in a way that is distributionally fair and doesn’t leave already vulnerable people worse off. This principle doesn’t just apply to ULEZ – it is crucial for all transition policies. It lies at the heart of the idea of ‘just transition’ philosophy, a key tenet of which is that, while the transition to a low-carbon, low-polluting society will inevitably involve some economic cost, that cost should be fronted by people who can afford to pay for it: the wealthy, not those who already face precarity.

This is why Reeves’ conservatism on taxation is so short-sighted. Her and her team have shot down any prospect that a Labour government would do anything to ask those with the deepest pockets to pay even a little bit more. The result is that, if Labour wins the next election, she and Starmer will face significant barriers to introducing many of the green policies that we so desperately need. Without having laid the groundwork for progressive taxation, they’ll be unable to fund policies without asking economically disenfranchised people to do so. The risk is that they just won’t happen.

Starmer’s retort would be that he’ll stimulate growth for increased state revenue. But any serious economist will tell you that no one, no matter how politically powerful, can simply magic up growth given the slowdown in the global economy. Without committing to new sources of taxation, the leadership risks preemptively digging the grave of the just transition before it’s even got to power.

Some say that any gesture from Labour politicians in support of modest redistribution inevitably leads to electoral defeat. This fails to appreciate just how unique the present circumstances are.

The country is falling apart because of 13 years of dysfunctional Conservative government, and we face a massive ecological crisis for which the Tories have no solutions. Almost everyone can see that. More pertinently, people understand that if things are to improve then the status quo can’t be maintained. Desperate times call for real leadership. And real leadership is about steering the ship towards gentler waters, not moving headlong into the tumultuous seas that have meant nearly capsizing on multiple occasions.

Making a green transition happen is non-negotiable, and transition policies like ULEZ are eminently reasonable, they just need to be delivered in a just way. Most people see this, including the vast majority of the Labour membership. Time for the party frontbench to develop a green, redistributive politics that meets the challenges of the times.