London's dilemma: Scrapped cars spark controversy as aid to Ukraine gets blocked by Mayor Sadiq Khan
12:03 PM EST, December 17, 2023
Why should cars be scrapped? The reason is, they fail to meet London's stringent emission standards. However, vehicles failing to meet these high British standards could still be extremely valuable in war-devastated Ukraine. Despite the potential, we won't discover this, as Khan has refused to approve the cars' transfer.
According to Khan, the proposal fails to meet the "legal threshold" for the scrapping of such vehicles to bring about "economic, social, and environmental" benefits to London citizens. The mayor emphasizes that the program aims to permanently eliminate the most polluting vehicles from the city's roads.
London's Mayor rejected the plea from Kyiv's Mayor
A few months ago, the Mayor of Kyiv lodged a request for a car transfer. Vitali Klitschko suggested that such vehicles, particularly SUVs or pickups, could find practical use in Ukraine in "various life-saving and transport situations".
Khan's decision has been severely criticized by his political adversary from the Conservative Party, Susan Hall.
Londoners who choose to scrap their cars should be allowed to decide whether they want their vehicles to be sent to aid Ukraine - she stated.
Currently, in London, diesel cars registered before September 2015 and petrol cars registered before January 2006 are banned from the city's roads. Owners receive £2,000 (around $2670) for scrapping these vehicles. However, if they wish to continue using them daily, they must pay a special fee of £12.50 (about $16.67) each day.
