MP who oversaw ULEZ introduction appointed as new Transport Secretary

Heidi Alexander, Labour MP for Swindon South, has been appointed as the UK’s new Transport Secretary. Her predecessor, Louise Haigh, resigned following revelations surrounding a fraud offence she committed before becoming an MP.

Alexander served as an MP for Lewisham East in London between 2010 and 2018, before resigning to become the capital’s Deputy Mayor for Transport under Mayor Sadiq Khan.

During a period of four years, she oversaw the management of Transport for London through the COVID-19 pandemic, the troubled construction of Crossrail and, perhaps most controversially, the implementation of the capital’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone, which overnight saw almost 40 per cent of traffic in central London facing a charge of £12.50 per day to use the roads.

Since ULEZ’s inception and later expansion, the scheme has drawn criticism over its disproportionate effect on less wealthy members of society. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stated before Labour took power that such schemes “need to be proportionate and not impact on those that are going to struggle most to pay”.

More recently, the Prime Minister has been vocal in his support of ULEZ, saying: “I’ve always said that we do need to take measures to ensure that we've got clean air. I’ve got two children, one aged 15 and one aged 12. I don’t give them dirty water and I don’t want them to breathe in dirty air”.

Transport Secretary Alexander has described the scheme as “probably one of her biggest successes” and before the ULEZ expansion declared that it was “totally the right thing to extend that out to the North and South Circular”. 

Alexander also warned against a “car-led recovery” from the COVID-19 pandemic and has supported reducing car parking spaces at train stations to encourage people to walk, cycle or take public transport.

Since being re-elected to Parliament in 2024, the new Transport Secretary has served as a junior justice minister. She now takes on one of the most challenging roles in the Cabinet, with the UK suffering from an estimated £16 billion pothole problem, as well as a protracted transition towards electric vehicles.