Phil Elliott, also known as ‘the cat herder’, is a person who brings together individuals with different goals but who share a common objective. As the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London was imminent, Phil Elliott, the founder of UK Unites, a campaign group with 3000 members, was busy organizing protests against the ULEZ expansion from his Lincolnshire home.

A few days prior to this, I met Elliott at Rykas cafe in Surrey, a popular spot for bikers. Instead of the usual small groups of bikers, I was surprised to see a large gathering in front of an old London bus. Banners and signs on the bus read messages like ‘Stop ULEZ’, ‘Stop Khan’, ‘No 2 ULEZ’, and ‘Our Roads, Our Freedom’.

There were also 12 vans with political slogans parked around the bike park. One van had a coffin on its roof with the name ‘Khan’ on it, along with an image of a missile and a message for Sadiq Khan and the BBC from anti-ULEZ groups. At the back of the bus, a group of speakers addressed the crowd. Howard Cox, Reform UK’s candidate for London mayor, expressed his commitment to making London the most motorcycle-friendly city, and Lembit Öpik, former Liberal Democrat MP and spokesperson for the Motorcycle Action Group, criticized Khan and the ULEZ expansion.

The crowd cheered as Öpik suggested that it may be up to the thousands gathered there to stop Khan. The crowd’s enthusiasm stemmed from the fact that bikes must meet Euro 3 emissions regulations, in force since 2007, to avoid a £12.50 charge for entering London (petrol cars must meet at least Euro 4, in force since 2005, and diesel cars Euro 6, in force since 2015).