Survey Showing Support for South Fulham Restrictions Breached Rules
Opponent of Clean Air scheme calls for police investigation
The Clean Air Neighbourhood trial west of Wandsworth Bridge was implemented in February 2023. Picture: Facundo
March 31, 2025
The industry body which regulates the conduct of surveys in this country has upheld a complaint about the one carried out by the council on the South West Fulham Clean Air Neighbourhood (CAN).
Opinions of local people were gathered by research company Opinium on behalf of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, but a complaint was made to the Market Research Society (MRS) about the way the exercise was carried out ahead of the introduction of the scheme on a trial basis in December 2022,
Opinium recorded that, from 536 residents interviewed by doorstep canvassing, 59 per cent ‘either strongly supported or supported the general principle of reducing the amount of out-of-borough traffic using neighbourhood streets as cut-throughs’. In a later online consultation involving 1,989 respondents, the percentage in-favour was even higher, at 65 per cent.
The MRS concluded that there were four separate rule breaches of the industry Code of Conduct in the survey which the council later used as part of its argument for the permanent introductions of restrictions last March.
It was found that Opinium did not take reasonable action to ensure participants ‘were not led towards a particular point of view’; did not provide participants with the required information to enable them to give their permission to take part in a data collection exercise, specifically the general subject of the data collection; it also didn’t explain the purpose of the data collection; and did not ensure they were not misled when being asked to participate.
The MRS finding concludes by noting Opinium ‘fully co-operated’ with the investigation and that no further action was required. David Tarsh, the borough resident who made the complaint to the MRS, did so on the basis that he believed the questions to be biased and misleading.
Following the judgement he said, “The conception and implementation of this traffic scheme has been a disgrace from the outset; and the conduct of those involved prompts serious questions about ethics in public service. Elected and employed officials alike should be ashamed of themselves for creating something so divisive and discriminatory; and for their refusal to engage properly with residents.
“However, when it comes to manipulating opinion polls in circumstances like this, it is an abuse of power. It’s the kind of behaviour one sees in places like Russia, and we rightly abhor. There should be no place for such unethical conduct in the UK. For public confidence to be restored, we need the police to investigate the people who commissioned and approved this survey, for Misconduct in a Public Office.”
He claims that the council was under pressure to keep a scheme which he described as ‘deeply flawed and unpopular’ operating because of the large revenue that it was generating but it was obliged to show local support if it was to continue. At the time a petition against it had gathered over 12,000 signatures and the majority of responses to the council from residents during the trial were negative.
James Endersby, Chief Executive of Opinium, said: “We support the Market Research Society’s review process. We were pleased to see its conclusion that no corrective steps were necessary, but we had already reviewed this study many months ago and put in place additional layers of quality checking in our ongoing commitment to high standards.”
A spokesperson for Hammersmith and Fulham Council said: “We are familiar with the campaign by a prominent motor industry lobbyist, who doesn’t even live in the area, to frustrate the wishes of South Fulham residents. But the overwhelming majority of residents have made their position clear. They asked us to reduce congestion and pollution in their neighbourhood and we have delivered with cleaner, safer and quieter streets.”
Mr Tarsh described the council’s description of him as a ‘motor industry lobbyist’ and rejected any suggestion that he had been paid to oppose the council’s measures. He says the last time he did any work in the motor industry was in the late nineties and he was never involved in lobbying.
The council has not disclosed how much Opinium was paid to carry out the survey.
The South West Fulham CAN is part of a wider scheme covering streets either side of Wandsworth Bridge Road. The council says the combined efforts have led to 15,000 fewer cars per day using residential streets as cut-throughs, removing an estimated 1.9 tonnes in carbon emissions and 1.35kg nitrogen oxide a day.
Written with contributions from Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter
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