Scores of Tory MPs urge Rishi to delay the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars that will leave drivers ‘worse off’
- Conservative MPs and peers called on the Prime Minister to reconsider the ban
- They said the UK ‘now stands virtually alone’ after the EU delayed its own plans
Dozens of Tory MPs yesterday urged Rishi Sunak to delay the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, 40 Conservative MPs and peers warned that sticking to the controversial timetable would cause ‘grave harm to the economy’ and leave motorists ‘worse off’.
The group, which includes six former Cabinet ministers, said the UK ‘now stands virtually alone’ in pursuing the rush to phase out petrol cars, with the EU watering down its own proposals for a ban that will not start until five years later.
They also question whether ‘new electricity generation and charging point roll-out is anywhere close to being on track to match the 2030 ambition, just seven years away’.
Signatories, who include Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Lord Frost and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, also pointed to polling showing that the policy is unpopular with the public.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (pictured) pushed back against the calls as he said the government is ‘not considering a delay’ to the 2030 date
‘The time is right for a re-think,’ they said. ‘It would be easy to kick the can down the road, but car manufacturers and the public urgently need certainty about the Government’s approach, which has yet to be formalised in legislation.
‘We urge you to review this policy to make sure car ownership remains affordable and manufacturers are protected.
‘A move to 2035 to match competitor countries such as the EU bloc and the USA would seem entirely sensible.’
Mr Sunak said last week that he was determined to make the UK’s drive for Net Zero ‘proportionate and pragmatic’.
MPs and peers including Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured) urged Rishi Sunak to delay the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars
The PM pushed back against the idea yesterday, telling the Sunday Telegraph: ‘The 2030 target has been our policy for a long time and continues to be. We are not considering a delay to that date.’
But he faced fresh pressure yesterday as a leading expert questioned whether the date was achievable.
Chris Stark, chief executive of the independent Climate Change Committee, warned that ‘we have not seen yet the move to a cheap electric car’.
Mr Stark pointed out that his own committee had advised that 2032 was a ‘more appropriate date’.
The committee said the slow roll-out of charging points posed a ‘a serious risk to the achievement’ of the current target.
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