Khan’s ‘Outer London tax’ is jobs risk, says Tory candidate

TENS of thousands of jobs are at risk from Sadiq Khan plans for an “Outer London tax”, Tory mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey warns today.

The Labour mayor is planning to charge people a daily fee of at least £3.50 to drive into London in an attempt to raise money for cashstrapped Transport for London.

However the charge – dubbed “Checkpoint Chigwell” by its critics – will hit those who commute into London and domestic tourists coming to the capital, with 40,000 jobs at risk.

Internal TfL estimates suggest the Greater London Boundary Charge – if levied at £3.50 a day and applying only to non-Londoners – could reduce the total number of weekday car trips across the GLA boundary by between 10 per cent and 15 per cent.

This could translate into a £2.6billion hit to London’s tourist economy, or nearly 40,000 jobs, according to Conservative analysis.

The Outer London charge has proved to be a touchstone issue at the London mayoral election with millions of people hit with the charge for driving into the capital’s suburbs.

Mr Bailey said: “As London recovers from the pandemic, the last thing we need is another tax that will hurt businesses, [but] that’s exactly what Khan’s Outer London Tax will do.

“It will hit businesses travelling between London and elsewhere. It will hit commuters. It will hit people visiting family. London isn’t just Westminster and the Square Mile. London is great because of the people and businesses everywhere from Havering to Hillingdon, Barnet to Sutton.

“Right now, they’re not represented in City Hall. So if I’m elected on 6 May 6,

I’ll scrap plans for an Outer London Tax – and give all of London a fresh start.”

Separately, Laurence Fox, the Reclaim Party leader, will say today that will scrap the congestion charge across the whole of London if elected mayor.

Mr Fox said: “The congestion charge has been an unnecessary burden for Londoners for too long. Scrapping these taxes will help encourage people to travel in and around London and enjoy the greatest city in the world.”