I’m very pleased to participate in this important debate, and I would first of all like to congratulate my colleague Simon Thomas on the leadership that he’s shown on this very important issue. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m a doctor by calling, but, naturally, I approach this issue from the point of view of the public health impact of these issues. It is crucially important for us to realise that air pollution has a dire impact on all of our lungs, but particularly on the lungs of young children, and there is increasing evidence that it impacts on the lungs of unborn children—that is, even the unborn are affected by the pollution breathed in by expectant mothers. That could scar your health throughout your life. So, we can’t over-emphasise the importance of this issue.

Many years ago, we were willing as a society to suffer water that wasn’t clean. Now, you wouldn’t suggest any situation where we should put up with water full of impurities, but we are willing to put up with air that is full of impurities. We need a major change of attitude, because we need to move forward and create these clean air zones, as Simon and many others have already suggested and supported. Many years ago, we had to put up with that smog in our largest cities—the pea soupers, as they were called, in Manchester and London—where the air was so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Well, we saw legislation then to clean the air, but, of course, things are far more subtle these days. We are still suffering as a result of those impurities, but they aren’t visible now. So, on the face of it, we think everything is fine, but things aren’t fine—they’re a very long way from being fine, and we need to legislate to ensure that they are put right.