---quote---
Van emission charge plan halted

Plans to extend a scheme preventing high polluting vehicles entering
London have been shelved by the city's mayor.

An expansion of London's Low Emission Zone (LEZ) would have seen
owners of heavily polluting vans and minibuses fined up to £500 a day
by October 2010.

Mayor Boris Johnson pulled the plug as he said it could damage
businesses already suffering in the recession.

Green Party London Assembly member Darren Johnson said it was
"condemning Londoners to more premature deaths".
[...]
The next phase would require owners of smaller vehicles such as vans
and minibuses to meet the same standards.
---/quote---

More from BBC News online:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7866967.stm

The press release from the Mayor's office (via the TfL website):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/medi...tre/11096.aspx

Boris' public angle is that this is about providing a reprieve during
the recession. I think he should have had the guts to push on with it
- schemes like this are a stick with which change can be foisted in.
They also provide an impetus to develop and deploy less polluting
technologies - this is one of the areas that Britain really could and
should embrace - furthermore we should be aiming to become pioneering
experts in the field, and build new businesses on the back of that,
something which would in turn help to rebuild our economy.

Instead I think the Mayor has acted in a narrow and short-sighted
manner, and whilst I don't discount that there might be some
potentially adverse economic effects of phase 3 of the LEZ I think his
choice to emphasise this provides something of a smokescreen to
distract attention away from the fact that this is far more about
narrow political concerns.

Rather than just subscribing to the path of least resistance Boris
should have the balls to show some real leadership, challenge the
status quo and have a stab at changing the world. Not impressed at all
that he wimped out of this - what's more didn't his manifesto say he
was fully committed to the LEZ?