Government is failing automotive companies and workers, says Labour in response to Boris Johnson’s CBI speech

Ed Miliband, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary has responded to reports of the Prime Minister's CBI speech tomorrow, saying: "As so often with Boris Johnson, when it comes to climate, he fails to deliver at the scale the emergency demands or in a way that is fair.

"His announcement doesn’t make up for the enormous deficit we face in the number of charging points we need and the appalling divide in charging points between north and south.

"London and the South East have more public car charging points than the rest of England and Wales combined. Yet there is nothing here to help address this.

"Nor is there help so lower and middle income families can afford electric vehicles or the investment required to build the gigafactories we need.

"Only with Labour’s 28bn climate investment pledge will we see the measures we need for the urgent and fair transition that can benefit workers and consumers across our country."

Ed Miliband added: “The government is failing Britain’s automotive companies and workers. Rather than step up to support the car industry in the global race for green technologies, Ministers have stepped back and left manufacturers, workers and the public on their own, failing to take the action necessary to make the switch affordable for families hit by a cost of living crisis. 

“To back the car industry and create jobs, Labour would bring forward ambitious proposals to spark an electric vehicle revolution in every part of the country. By extending the help to buy an electric car for those on lower and middle incomes and accelerating the roll-out of charging points in areas that have been left out, we would ensure that everyone could benefit and make the green transition fair.”