Vindicated. That is how Andy Burnham felt in the aftermath of the Uxbridge byelection, when Labour’s narrow defeat was blamed on the determination of his London counterpart to extend the capital’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez). Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, had pressed “pause” in February 2022 on the introduction of a clean air zone (Caz) after initially supporting it, then changing his mind. Around 1,300 Caz signs had already been erected, along with enforcement cameras, for the zone which was due to be introduced on 30 May last year. It would have seen non-compliant vans, taxis, buses and lorries all paying between £7.50 and £60 a day to drive around the city region, all 1,277km (493 sq mi) of it. But Burnham halted its introduction, saying it was inherently unfair after issues caused by the pandemic. His London counterpart, Sadiq Khan, bolstered by a high court ruling last week, has however vowed to weather the post-Uxbridge storms and push ahead with the Ulez extension at the end of August because “it is the right thing to do”. Burnham has at the same time been locked in a battle with government, arguing a non-charging zone is the way forward. Some see it as Burnham “reading the room” while Khan sticks to his original decision, which may have cost Labour votes in the byelection. Others see it as political cowardice, putting personal popularity ratings above the human right to breathe clean air.
It means Greater Manchester, home to 2.8 million people, is the only city region in England legally mandated by government to clean up its air that has not bitten the bullet and begun charging the most polluting vehicles. Burnham won re-election in 2021 with 67% of the vote on a manifesto which included introducing the Caz, but by the end of that year, increasingly fierce opposition was building. Burnham was being harangued on his weekly Radio Manchester phone-in, and there were growing protests, including one when farmers boarded a bus with a sheep and a shetland pony. More than 80,000 people joined a Facebook group called Rethink the Clean Air Zone. Conspiracy theories flourished, including one that wrongly suggested Burnham’s wife was profiting from the initiative. Announcing the pause, Burnham said he had decided the charging zone was inherently unfair at a time of significant vehicle supply chain issues, rising vehicle prices and a cost-of-living crisis. It was “not morally defensible” and a “pre-pandemic solution for a post-pandemic world”, he said. Motoring groups welcomed the pause, including the Road Haulage Association, which said it supported “effective, proportionate and fair clean air measures that make upgrading to cleaner vehicles easier”. Burnham is now a proponent of what he has called the “carrot” method, demanding around £130m of compensation from central government to help drivers scrap and replace their old vehicles. That, he has insisted, will do more to clear up Greater Manchester’s filthy air than the “stick” of penalising anyone. Burnham has talked about an “investment-led clean air plan”, and has asked for more money for the Bee Network, a “London-style” public transport and walking and cycling network that should offer more residents viable alternatives to driving by January 2025. The contrast in public transport between Burnham and Khan’s realms are stark. Khan chairs Transport for London, which operates the buses and underground and overground trains which serve each of the city’s 32 boroughs.
In Greater Manchester, three out of 10 boroughs do not have any Metrolink tram stops, and some places – such as Burnham’s old Leigh constituency in Wigan – do not have train stations. Burnham hopes buses will improve when he takes charge of the network on 24 September after Greater Manchester becomes the first area outside London to bring buses under local control in almost 40 years. While Burnham argues with the government, roads in all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs continue to break legal limits for air quality. Liz Godfrey, the Manchester coordinator for Mums For Lungs, called the continued delay “bitterly disappointing” and accused Burnham of “lacking ambition”. “If anybody is in a position to do something bold, it’s him, with his mandate,” she said. Godfrey said she is currently working with a school in Longsight, a south Manchester suburb, where 40% of children have asthma. Pete Abel from Manchester Friends of the Earth said: “Air pollution causes the premature deaths of over 1,000 people in Greater Manchester each year, and the region has one of the highest rates in the country for emergency hospital admissions of children with asthma and other respiratory infections.” A smaller charging zone in Manchester city centre for all vehicle types that do not meet air pollution standards is essential, Abel added. By October 2022, the Caz had cost over £62m. The service contract has so far cost £18.4m and £120,000 has been spent on 1,309 “Under review” stickers to paste on the dormant signs. Eamonn O’Brien, the leader of Bury council and holder of the clean air brief, insisted it was not “fantasy politics” to ask the government for £130m while trying not to charge any members of the public. He called on the government to be honest: if the £130m is contingent on Greater Manchester introducing a charging zone, it should say so, and own that decision, he said: “What they can’t do is have it both ways and say these [charging zones] are terrible for car drivers and horrible things that socialists do, and then withhold the money to try and do the alternative. “I personally don’t think it’s a fantasy. This is actually common sense and a moderate way of going about doing the right thing.”