Skip to content

Has Ulez left a bitter taste in this west London marginal?

BBC Uxbridge shoppers Piyara on the right wearing a white top and his wife wearing sunglasses, a floral top and chiffon floral scarf around her neck. In the background there is Uxbridge town centre square and part of a fruit stall displaying watermelons.BBC
Uxbridge voters, like Piyara and his wife, will decide one of London's most marginal seats

There is plenty of choice at the fruit and veg stall outside Uxbridge Tube station in west London - much like on the political market here where eight candidates are standing to become the local MP.

They have all been setting out their stalls to win over voters in the key marginal seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

Near the apples and oranges, I met local resident Kay who wanted action on the cost of living and the NHS. She wasn’t impressed with the choice on offer, politically speaking.

She said: "What choice? To me it’s the devil or the deep blue sea. I haven't made my mind up."

Piyara, out shopping with his wife, said his top issue was immigration.

He said: "I have all the sympathy [for] people coming here due to their poverty… but this is a tiny island."

This election will be the second time that voters choose an MP in this constituency in less than a year.

Uxbridge resident Kay who is wearing black sunglasses, a white sleeveless top and a leopard skin lanyard. In the background there is a Ladbrokes betting shop and Uxbridge town centre's paved area with a tree and some seating, as well as passers by walking past her.
Kay says the choice in this election is "the devil or the deep blue sea"

The job used to be held by the former Prime Minister and Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, until he quit last summer after being found to have misled Parliament over lockdown parties at Downing Street.

That sparked a by-election for this constituency and the Conservative, Steve Tuckwell, managed to hold on with a tiny majority of just 495 votes over Labour’s Danny Beales, in a seat that has been Tory-held since 1970.

Now they are gearing up for a rematch and some familiar issues are back in contention, like the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (Ulez).

The Labour mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to expand the Ulez to outer London last summer was viewed by both the Labour leader and the Conservatives as a reason why Labour did not manage to win.

Since then Mr Khan won the mayoral election on a pro-Ulez ticket and many drivers affected have switched over to compliant vehicles.

Out leafleting near the Uxbridge Conservative Club, Mr Tuckwell, who is hoping to be re-elected, told me there was still "anger and frustration on the doorsteps" and that the Conservative promise to scrap Ulez if the party gets back into government has been well received.

Mr Tuckwell said: "People may well have adapted and changed their vehicles, but it’s cost them thousands and thousands of pounds."

Steve Tuckwell with canvassers walking on the pavement to the left of him on sunny day in residential street. He is holding leaflets with his left hand and is walking on the road.
Steve Tuckwell is hoping to retain the seat he first won last year

The electoral impact of that issue exposed tensions in the Labour Party.

The local candidate Mr Beales expressed concerns at the time and the leader Sir Keir Starmer urged Mr Khan "to reflect" on whether there was "more to be done" to help motorists.

Mr Khan then extended his vehicle scrappage scheme to all Londoners.

On Uxbridge High Street for a canvassing session, Mr Beales told me the expansion of the scrappage scheme "was positive" but all governments needed to provide more support "to transition our vehicles".

He insisted voters had moved on, saying: "This election is a general election. We are deciding: do we want people's mortgages to come down? Do you want to get on and build the new Hillingdon hospital? Do we want to get more police back on the street?"

Danny Beales, centre, talking to four canvassers on a high street
Danny Beales is aiming to whittle down the Conservative’s thin majority

This time round the candidates will have to win over new voters. Boundary changes designed to give each constituency a similar sized population will add more traditionally Conservative leaning areas to the seat, like South Harefield.

At the River Garden pub there, I met first-time voters Jessica and Kara, who had stopped for lunch. They told me they wanted the next government to focus on affordable housing.

Jessica, aged 19, said: "People I'm very close with, it's important that they get the support they need to be able to live [in] a comfortable place."

Kara, aged 23, chose not to vote last time, but said she would this time and wanted a government that would help renters.

Kara and Jessica sitting on a bench in a pub beer garden on a sunny day.
Kara and Jessica, like many young Londoners, are focused on housing

She explained: "It’s so expensive. You can literally have a full-time job and still your earnings go on your rent."

The state of Hillingdon Hospital remains a hot topic here. The Conservatives have said it would be rebuilt by 2030, later than first promised and Labour has said it would complete it by the end of the next Parliament.

The Liberal Democrat candidate, Ian Rex-Hawkes, said the hospital was "falling apart" and "staff were overworked and underpaid".

The future of Uxbridge police station - which no longer has a front counter - is another contentious issue. It had been earmarked for closure until London’s mayor backtracked on that just before last year’s by-election. The Tories claim its future remains in doubt.

A fruit stall in Uxbridge displaying large boxes containing watermelons and yellow honeydew melons along the pavement. On the table there are several bowls containing oranges, pears and bananas.
Like Uxbridge's fruit stalls, a variety of candidates are standing in Thursday's election

A spokesperson for Mr Khan said the mayor "wants it to be saved and will not be selling it".

Stopping sewage pollution in local rivers is the focus for the Green Party candidate, Sarah Green, who said it required "urgent action".

The other candidates standing in Uxbridge & South Ruislip include Geoff Courtenay for UKIP, Steve Gardner for SDP, Gary Harbord for TUSC and Tim Wheeler for Reform UK.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]