Air pollution is an invisible enemy threatening the community spaces we love and those whom we care most about. It kills thousands of people every year and affects the quality of life for all of us.

After the experience of the pandemic, people want action and know that bold action for clean air could bring huge health and environmental benefits and help kickstart the green recovery and the new jobs we all know are so desperately needed.

We have therefore proposed that a £20 billion Community Clean Air Fund should be set up, a fund which would let councils and communities invest in the transport systems they need, rather than Whitehall and Westminster dictating what is right for them.

In contrast, the Conservatives’ have failed to act and the UK regularly breaks legal limits on air quality in so many towns and cities.

The Community Clean Air fund will target all transport emissions affecting local communities with an emergency three year plan to transform local transport options, including:

* new walking and cycling routes (£5.5 billion);

* new light rail and tram projects (£4.5 billion);

* the expansion of bus routes – old ones restored and new ones introduced (£5 billion);

* a hydrogen bus revolution – to convert bus fleets to hydrogen (£2 billion);

* new council-led clean air zones for congested towns and cities (£2 billion); and

* extra electric vehicle charging points (£1 billion).

With air pollution causing 40,000 early deaths a year and transport now the country’s biggest source of carbon emissions, our strategy will not only boost the nation’s health but will also tackle the climate emergency.