Labour must ‘learn lesson’ of Tory Ulez attack in by-election, says Starmer

Labour must “learn the lesson” of seeing a party policy used against it, Sir Keir Starmer has warned, after a narrow defeat in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election.

The Labour leader said there was “something very wrong” when a party policy was on “each and every Tory leaflet.”

This came amid Conservative attacks on London mayor Sadiq Khan’s plan to expand the capital’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez), which applies a charge for the most polluting vehicles.

Addressing the party’s national policy forum in Nottingham on Saturday, Sir Keir said the Uxbridge and South Ruislip result demonstrated that there “is still a long way to go”.

Labour overturned a 20,000 majority to win the Selby seat in north Yorkshire with a 23.7 percentage points swing away from the Conservatives – the second largest produced by Labour at a by-election since 1945,

But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives hanging on in Boris Johnson’s old Uxbridge seat has sparked debates within both the Tories and Labour on their green policy stance.

While the by-election win in Selby and Ainsty should give Labour “every reason to be confident” ahead of a general election, he also added: “That result in Uxbridge demonstrates there is never any reason to be complacent and never a reason to rest on our laurels.

“It is a reminder that in an election, policy matters. We are doing something very wrong if policies put forward by the Labour Party end up on each and every Tory leaflet.

“We’ve got to face up to that and to learn the lesson.”

The Opposition leader urged the forum, which is debating potential manifesto ideas, to stay “disciplined” as he warned that the Tories were likely to seize on rogue policies during next year’s likely general election campaign.

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Following the byelection result in west London on Friday, Sir Keir said City Hall’s Mr Khan should “reflect” on the expansion of Ulez after new Tory MP Steve Tuckwell painted the vote as a referendum on the toll.

Mr Khan plans next month, pending a court challenge, to widen the £12.50 daily charge for cars which fail to meet emissions standards to beyond the capital’s north and south circular roads.

Will there be changes to the Ulez plans?

Mr Khan’s team said nine out of 10 cars driving in outer London were already compliant with Ulez regulations and would not be charged.

A source close to the Labour mayor said winning Uxbridge “was always going to be a struggle”, pointing out that Sir Tony Blair did not turn it over during his 1997 landslide.

“It is a disappointing result and Sadiq has been clear he is listening to Londoners following this by-election,” the source said.

“Sadiq has always said that expanding the Ulez was a really difficult decision, but necessary to save the lives of young and vulnerable Londoners.”

Following the Uxbridge win, Conservative Party leader Mr Sunak is facing calls from members of his party to water down pledges designed to help the UK meet its pledge of having a net zero carbon economy by 2050.

Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, chairman of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, has suggested delaying the ban on new petrol and diesel cars, pushing it back “at least” five years to 2035.

What about the other by-elections?

While Mr Sunak avoided a triple by-election defeat, the ruling party saw heavy losses inflicted by voters in what were once considered safe seats.

How significant are these results? Robert Peston and election analyst Colin Rallings look at what could happen next

As well as losing in Selby, the Tories also came second in Somerton and Frome, with the Liberal Democrats turning a 19,000 blue majority into an 11,000-vote cushion for new MP Sarah Dyke.

Mr Sunak, according to an ally of the prime minister quoted in The Times, is preparing to approach the lead-up to next year’s likely election with “more political edge” in recognition that “substantive issues”, such as Ulez in Uxbridge, can help the Tories to win.

The newspaper said Mr Sunak is planning to focus on “divisive” issues, such as crime, cracking down on small boats of migrants arriving in Britain, and transgender rights, to claw back ground on Labour, with Sir Keir’s outfit well ahead in opinion polls.

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