Conservatives: Corbyn plotting new war on the motorist

Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party are covertly planning to hike taxes on drivers across the United Kingdom, Conservatives warned today. The small print of Labour documents expose plans for a barrage of punitive anti-car measures, to force almost two-thirds of all car journeys off the roads.

Anti-car crackdown in next five years: A Labour Party report published two weeks ago, endorsed by the Shadow Cabinet, outlines how they will deliver Labour’s policy for net zero carbon emissions by 2030. Backing the report, Rebecca Long-Bailey, pledged “rapid progress” on these policies over “the next five years.” Labour explain that even with support for more electric vehicles, an astonishing 60% reduction in vehicle mileage is required, with a “large and rapid” shift away from car use thanks to their 2030 target. By contrast, the Government’s 2050 target would allow far more time to develop the cost-effective technologies to allow every vehicle on the road to be zero-emission.

Even the Labour movement’s own leaders warn the policies would be disastrous: Tim Roache, head of the GMB union – Labour’s third-largest funder – warned that the policy would require the “confiscation of petrol cars,” putting “entire industries and the jobs they produced in peril.” 

Alarm bells sound against ‘punitive’ policies: The Committee on Climate Change have said that a 2030 target would require “punitive policies”; the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that Labour’s 2030 target would be “hugely disruptive”.

Corbyn’s disaster for drivers: Labour’s report references a 2018 blueprint on how necessary “demand management” measures will be met. A 60% mileage reduction will be achieved by measures such as:

·        “Increases in fuel duty”,

·        “Restraint measures such as road pricing and workplace parking charges”,

·        “Reducing motorway speed limits” below 70pm, and

·        “Cancel all new road schemes”.

Costing working people: The Conservative Government’s reductions in fuel duty have saved the average driver £1,000: this is now under threat. If petrol was taxed as heavily as it was in 2010, then based on current pre-tax prices, this would put +21p on every litre of petrol. Road pricing was planned under the last Labour Government at a cost of up to80p per km (£1.29/mile).

Labour politicos backing such tax hikes: Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, is already planning road pricing in London, and the Labour chair of the Transport Select Committee started a review into road pricing and workplace parking taxes last month. John McDonnell’s economic adviser told September’s Labour Party Conference that fuel duty must be hiked. Such anti-car measures should not be a surprise: Jeremy Corbyn does not own a car; he has previously demanded a moratorium on motorway improvements and snatching away parking spaces.

Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, said:

“It is now clear that Labour have secret plans to clobber hardworking people with a barrage of tax hikes on their family car, that would leave families with less money in their pockets. Labour’s extreme economic policies would a disaster for drivers, and everyone would pay the price in higher taxes, fewer jobs and less money for public services.

“To add insult to injury, badly-needed road improvements to cut congestion and speed up traffic will be axed. Corbyn is coming for your car and will exhume the last Labour Government’s war on the motorist. 

“Tackling climate change is vital but independent experts and even Labour’s own unions say their promises don’t stack up. Conservatives are taking a practical, sensible approach to reducing emissions by embracing new technology, so we protect our climate for future generations and still keep down the cost of living.”

Notes to Editors

LABOUR PUBLISH 2030 EMISSIONS PLAN

In September 2019, Labour Party Conference backed motions calling on a Labour Government to: “work towards a path to net zero carbon emissions by 2030”. John McDonnell has supported Labour’s policy to achieve net zero by 2030. “This is a huge try. Let’s be clear about that. But we’ve got to” (BBC Radio 2, 3 October 2019). This is radically different from the Conservative Government’s challenging but ground-breaking 2050 commitment.

In October 2019, the Labour Party published a report on how to deliver that 2030 target. Labour Shadow Ministers endorsed the report, and asserted that the recommendations had to be implemented in the next five years:

“This report makes a major contribution to Labour’s plans to kickstart a Green Industrial Revolution… The recommendations in this report could put the UK on track for a zero-carbon energy system during the 2030’s – but only if rapid progress is made early on. The next five years are therefore crucial.” 

(Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour Party press release, “Labour welcomes report putting UK onto the path to net zero energy emissions in the 2030s”, 24 October 2019, link).

LABOUR PLAN CALLS FOR NEW TAXES & ANTI-CAR MEASURES

The Labour report (www.labour.org.uk/30-by-2030) notes that by 2030, 62% of the vehicle fleet will be electric. But this will not be enough to meet their punishing 2030 target. Instead, it asserts there needs to be an additional 60% reduction in miles travelled by vehicles through ‘demand management’, forcing people out of cars:

“Demand management of vehicle use. Analysis of pathways to reach a 1.5oC climate target indicates that even if all new cars are ULEVs by 2035 at least 20% mileage reduction and, depending on modelling assumptions, up to 60% mileage reduction will be required, implying a large and rapid shift of journeys to other modes of transport” (p.136).

The report then notes how this 60% reduction target will be delivered, by referencing this report:

Footnote 199: 2018 Briefing: More than electric cars  (link).

How Labour will deliver an astonishing 60% reduction in mileage

In turn, the 2018 report explains exactly how up to 60% reduction needs to be met through ‘demand management’:

“The scale and speed of carbon saving that is needed means that electrification is insufficient on its own, and demand management to reduce traffic volumes will also be necessary” (link, 2018 briefing, p.2). 

“More action to reduce emissions from these vehicles, including: […] Increases in fuel duty and company car tax. All of these measures are necessary and important” (p.7). 

“Switching longer journeys of 10-25 miles will be more challenging and will need a package of carrots and sticks involving land-use planning, improved public transport and restraints on car travel … Almost half of these journeys in 2006 were commuting/business travel. Many of these can potentially be switched to public transport although this will require much better and more integrated public transport and restraint measures such as road pricing and workplace parking chargesto provide less incentive to travel by car” (p.10; footnote 108) 

“Reduced speeds can also help meet carbon targets… Reducing motorway speed limits [below 70mph] would deliver further carbon reductions” (p.8). 

“Planned funding for the trunk road network of £30 billion is the highest ever, of which £1 billion will go towards the creation of a Major Road Network. This high funding for more road capacity will drive emissions higher, making it more difficult to achieve future carbon budgets. We therefore believe that all new road construction should be halted immediately… Cancel all new road schemes” (p.11).

HOW MUCH WOULD THIS COST YOU?

Fuel duty: Since 2010, Conservatives in Government have scrapped the last Labour Government’s fuel duty escalator, and taken steps to freeze fuel duty across a number of years. Last year, the Conservative Government noted that ‘freezes to fuel duty for the ninth successive year save the average driver a cumulative £1,000 by 2020.’ (HM Treasury, Budget 2018, October 2018, para 3.42, link).

The % tax take on a litre of petrol has fallen from 68% in 2010 to 62% in 2019 (House of Commons Library, Taxation of Road Fuels, October 2019, p.50, link); if petrol was taxed as heavily as it was in 2010, then based on current pre-tax prices, this would put +21p on a litre of premium unleaded petrol.

Road pricing: The last Labour Government planned to introduce road pricing, until a massive public backlash and a national e-petition forced them to drop their plans. Government modelling included charges of up to 80p/km  (DfT, Feasibility study of road pricing in the UK - Full report, July 2004, para 4.25, link). [= £1.29/mile] This would now be higher, given inflation.

LABOUR POLITICOS WANT ROAD PRICING, PARKING TAXES & FUEL DUTY HIKES

Labour Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has said he is already planning a road pricing scheme for Greater London (London Assembly,Mayor’s Questions, 24 October 2018, link; and Evening Standard, “Mayor of London Sadiq Khan backs plan to charge drivers levy for ‘needless trips to shops’ “, 18 September 2019, link).

The Labour Chair of the Transport Select Committee, Lilian Greenwood, has called for a review into road pricing and workplace parking taxes. She bemoaned: “It’s been almost ten years since the last real discussion of national road pricing.” (Transport Select Committee press release, “Transport Committee to kickstart conversation on national road pricing”, 10 October 2019, link).

John McDonnell’s economic adviser was recently caught calling for hikes in fuel duty at Labour Party conference. Guy Standing, McDonnell’s economic guru, said: “We need carbon taxes. We need to raise fuel duty. Hammond was boasting that nine years in succession the Government hasn’t raised fuel duty. He should be ashamed” (The Sun, 6 November 2019, link).

CORBYN: A DISASTER FOR DRIVERS

These new taxes would not affect Jeremy Corbyn as he does not own a car (Rediff, 2017, link).

Corbyn has long campaigned for anti-car measures, including stopping road-building and taking away parking spaces:  e.g.  “Calls upon the Government to announce an immediate moratorium on motorway widening, a comprehensive review of the £23 billion roads programme, the implementation of measure to limit traffic growth and reduce the number of vehicle journeys on Britain’s roads… [and further calls] introduce planning guidelines to reduce city centre parking places” (House of Commons, EDM 444A1, 1994, link).

LABOUR’S OWN FUNDERS WARN OF HUGE DISRUPTION FROM 2030 TARGET

The Labour-affiliated GMB trade union have warned: ‘The proposal to do it by 2030 threatens whole communities, threatens whole jobs … This will mean that within a decade people’s petrol cars being confiscated. This will mean families can only take one flight every five years. Net zero carbon emissions by 2030 is utterly unachievable.” (BBC, The Today Programme, 24 September 2019).  

The GMB’s leader, Tim Roache, wrote: “We believe it would mean within the next decade a series of measures such as the confiscation of petrol cars…it will put entire industries and the jobs they produced in peril.” (GMB website, link).

INDEPENDENT EXPERTS SAY IT WILL NOT WORK

Lord Stern, who authored the Report on the Economics of Climate Change for Gordon Brown in 2006, said: “I think to go net zero, say, in the UK, by 2025, would be extremely difficult. You’d have to get all the internal combustion engine cars off the road… That’s a pretty hard ask. The Government’s target of net zero by 2050 makes sense” (BBC, Politics Live, 8 October 2019).

The Institute for Fiscal Studies have warned that Labour’s 2030 target is hugely disruptive: “We need zero emissions. Getting there by 2050 is tough and expensive but feasible and consistent with avoiding most damaging climate change. Aiming for zero emissions by 2030 is almost certainly impossible, hugely disruptive and risks undermining consensus” (Paul Johnson, Twitter, 24 September 2019, link).

The Committee on Climate Change has warned that targeting net zero before 2050 would require ‘punitive’ measures, making life considerably harder for the British people: “For most sectors 2050 currently appears to be the earliest credible date. An earlier date would also give less time to develop currently speculative options as alternatives to make up for any shortfall from other measures. That could lead to a need for punitive policies” (Committee on Climate Change, Net Zero: The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming, May 2019, link).

WHY A 2030 TARGET REQUIRES ANTI-CAR MEASURES

A 2050 net zero target allows more time to develop and implement new technologies and re-fuelling infrastructure as we move away from fossil fuels (e.g. through the development of batteries for electric vehicles, the deployment of more charge points, HGVs technology, grid capacity), and gradually phase transition in without costly disruption. A sensible and affordable transition is more likely to avoid negative outcomes and build public acceptance. 

The Labour 2030 document assumes between 25 million EVs will be in operation by 2030, 62% of the total UK vehicle fleet (p.136). DVLA/DVA statistics show there are currently 38.2 million licensed vehicles in Great Britain in 2018 and 1.2 million in Northern Ireland. By contrast, a longer period to deliver decarbonisation measures by 2050, allows for the necessary carbon reductions without having to make such drastic cuts to vehicle travel through punitive ‘demand management’. This allows for decarbonisation without hitting jobs and living standards.  

The Committee on Climate Change has noted: “A mid-century date provides a good balance between starting early with a clear target, which may deliver lower costs (investing in low-carbon technologies and approaches now gives more scope for cost reductions from learning-by-doing), while still allowing time for high-carbon capital stock turnover without extensive early write-offs” (CCC, Net Zero, p.214).