MP, Shadow Secretary of
State for Transport, said:
“Heidi Alexander says ‘there's no such thing as a war on
motorists' while families are paying more in road tax, more at
the pump, are more just to get to work. Make no mistake - Labour
are waging a full-scale assault on the driver.
“So, when Heidi says ‘no serious person' is asking van drivers to
take the bus, she's technically right. Labour aren't asking,
they're forcing you. Forcing drivers off the roads, out of their
cars, and into a world where only the wealthy can afford to
drive.
“Because under Labour, if you drive a van, own a car, or simply
want to get on with your life without being taxed into oblivion,
you are the problem. If this isn't a war on motorists, what is?”
ENDS
Notes to
Editors
-
Labour's councils repaired just 14 miles of roads, on
average, in 2023-24, compared to 68 miles for Conservatives
councils. ‘The 50 Tory-controlled Local Highway
Authorities in England that submitted data to the Department
for Transport fixed 68 miles of roads, on average in 2023/24,
according to Telegraph data. Labour's 78 councils, meanwhile,
repaired just 14 miles worth of roads – putting them behind the
13 Lib Dem local authorities who managed to fix 27 miles on
average' (The Telegraph, 19 January
2025, link).
-
Labour's growth-killing Autumn Budget scrapped five
road improvement schemes. ‘After a review the
Transport Secretary has decided not to progress with the
following unfunded and unaffordable road schemes on the
strategic road network: A5036 Princess Way, A358 Taunton to
Southfields, M27 J8 Southampton, the A47 Great Yarmouth
Vauxhall Roundabout and A1 Morpeth to Ellingham' (HM
Treasury, Autumn Budget 2024, 30 October 2024,
page 98, link).
-
Labour's growth-killing Autumn Budget hit motorists
with a £1.7 billion Vehicle Excise Duty tax
raid. In her first Budget, revealed that buyers of
petrol, diesel and hybrid cars are to be hit in a £1.7bn raid
on motorists, with their first-year Vehicle Excise Duty rates
set to double in some cases (The Telegraph, 30 October
2024, link).
-
Labour announced plans to bring forward the ban on the
sale of new petrol and diesel cars by five years, putting Ed
Miliband's net zero agenda ahead of family
finances. Labour's manifesto pledged to provide
‘certainty to manufacturers by restoring the phase-out date of
2030 for new cars with internal combustion engines' (The Labour
Party, Manifesto, 13 June 2024, link).
-
The Welsh Labour Government introduced blanket 20mph
speed limits across Wales, costing the Welsh economy
billions. In 2022, the Senedd voted to adopt
20mph as the default speed limit on restricted roads in Wales.
This policy has proven deeply unpopular, with 500,000 signing a
petition calling for the policy to be scrapped, and according
to the Welsh Government's own analysis could cost the Welsh
economy £4.5 billion (BBC News, 13 September
2023, link; BBC
News, 18 April 2024, link; Wales
Online, 9 January 2023, link).
