Too little, too late: no political will to tackle air pollution

News that petrol and diesel cars won’t be on sale after 2040 and that council are to receive £255m to tackle air pollution[1] has been branded “too little too late” by local Greens who have led the air pollution campaign in Maidstone. Comments by Maidstone’s Lib Dem leader[2] that change will be too difficult have been slammed by the Greens.

Stuart Jeffery, Green Party Parliamentary Candidate for Maidstone in 2017: “There is an appalling lack of political will to tackle deadly air pollution that is killing 130 people each year in Maidstone and this week’s announcements are too little, too late. Nationally government doesn’t want to take the urgent action needed despite a national death toll of over 40,000 people each year.

“Locally, the Lib Dems in Maidstone don’t have the ideas or will to tackle the pollution from traffic. As the Lib Dem leader suggests that the problem of traffic as too difficult to deal with perhaps she should stand down and let those of us with ideas make the much needed changes.

“We need live air pollution monitoring in Maidstone, significant investment in alternatives to cars, lobbying of government for diesel scrappage, far more electric charging, far more local renewable energy and we are going to need to reduce traffic in the town with a congestion charge and closures on high pollution days. Our EU neighbours have been doing most of these for years, it is time for us to bite the bullet."

1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40723581 
2. http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/motorists-could-face-charges-on-129507/