Government to use Ulez expansion to attack Labour over ‘war on motorists’

Ministers hope anti-green message will impress voters, as London mayor says he is a doer, not a delayer'

• Ulez expansion guide: what you need to know
• Readers' views: Planet and health more important than cars'

The government is to use the expansion of London's ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) to go on the attack over what it has called Labour's war on motorists", part of a wider battle against green policies it hopes could prove popular with voters.

With the extension of the clean air scheme to every London borough beginning at midnight on Monday, Sadiq Khan, the capital's Labour mayor, said that while the decision was difficult, the devastating health effects of toxic exhausts trumped other considerations.