Labour insiders have warned that Sadiq Khan could be voted out as mayor of London amid backlash over his contentious plans to expand the capital's Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez).
Party sources believe that Sadiq Khan, who was expected to win the Labour stronghold capital next May, could get squeezed out by voters outraged by the Ulez fee.
The mayor's popularity has fallen amid the planned expansion which would see motorists in all of Greater London pay a £12.50 daily fee if their cars don't meet the necessary emissions standards.
A Labour source told a newspaper outlet that people are furious with Sadiq Khan and given his unfavourability he may do the unthinkable and lose Labour's backyard of London.
Insiders have suggested the Ulez row could see voters turn their support to the Tories or ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who's understood to be contemplating a bid for mayor.
The Labour insider told the newspaper that Sadiq Khan won London because he focused on hoovering up votes on the periphery of the city.
The source warned the party could see a repeat of the Boris Johnson doughnut strategy, which treated inner and outer London as two distinct targets.
The insider added that you could see the Tories trying that again and making the race for City Hall a referendum on Ulez.
The Ulez presently has borders of the North and South Circular, but it's set to encompass the outer London boroughs from August 29. The new borders will reach Buckingham, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey.
The extended Ulez will see motorists in all of Greater London pay a £12.50 daily fee if their cars don't comply with minimum emissions standards.
Lorries, buses, coaches and heavy vans that are non-compliant are charged £100 under the separate low emissions zone (Lez) scheme, which already covers most of London.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is at odds with Sadiq Khan over the plan, which has caused somewhat of a civil war within the party.
Sir Keir Starmer fears the Ulez expansion will cause the party to haemorrhage votes. Meanwhile, MPs are accusing Sadiq Khan of waging a war on drivers.
Khalid Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, said the expansion was a huge burden on workers and argued that Sadiq Khan knows that these people can't afford it.
Khalid Mahmood told a newspaper outlet that it was just dogmatic politics for him and that he didn't want to be seen changing his view.
Can Sadiq Khan really have this much power? And surely whoever next becomes mayor of London, surely they will pursue the same route, so who's above them pulling the strings?
And if Londoners vote this in again then they deserve this and more because he won't stop there.
This is absurd and taxing drivers is daylight robbery. We pay far too much tax as it is - it's just tax on top of tax and more! And we the people are the cash cows.
London was once a wonderful and exciting metropolis to visit back in the day when the Lord Mayor of London was just a nursery rhyme character.
If people have any sense they will vote Sadiq Khan out, but the problem is they don't heed the warnings about him - it's like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Sadiq Khan needs to go but don't think that his replacement will undo anything that Sadiq has done.
It's almost as if this man is conducting his own personal war against Londoners, and he's trying his utmost to maximise the damage to the city.
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