Last week’s Full Council meeting at Crawley Borough Council saw a welcome but long-overdue recommendation passed, to broadcast council meetings online and be viewable afterwards. In the same way that the Labour controlled council is an outlier within West Sussex for overseeing by far the lowest recycling rates, Crawley Borough Council is also an outlier for lack of openness and transparency, by being the only local authority in the whole county not to broadcast its meetings. This now changes later this year, becoming easier for Crawley residents to see what is being done in their name.
Had last week’s meeting been broadcast and recorded, the stunts pulled would have been available for everyone to see. Jointly with Cllr Richard Burrett, my Conservative colleague for Pound Hill North and Forge Wood, I had tabled a motion seeking the council to join with other councils within and near London, to oppose the London Mayor’s expansion of the ULEZ (ultra-low emission zone) to cover the whole of London.
Due to come in from late August this year, The Labour Mayor of London will charge £12.50 each day for non-exempt vehicles to drive anywhere within London. For Crawley residents who work in London, this could be devastating. For occasional visitors, such as going to Heathrow, IKEA, Wembley Stadium or Arena (£25 if not out of London by midnight after a concert) Twickenham Stadium, Royal Marsden Hospital, or a visit to any outer London borough, you are going to have to check your vehicle and then pay this new tax online if you aren’t exempt. If you don’t pay for any reason, you will be fined £180.
Cynically, at last week’s meeting, Labour councillors imposed a wrecking amendment on our motion, forcing a four-month delay to the motion being voted on to the next Full Council meeting in July, only five weeks before ULEZ expansion takes effect. This meant Labour councillors conveniently avoided having to vote on opposing London ULEZ expansion before Crawley’s local elections on 4 May and risk losing votes. I strongly suspect they back the Labour London Mayor over impacted Crawley residents.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
5th April 2023
