From car tax to cancelled roads, the UK's motoring policies are a mess

An E-mail from a reader landed in my inbox last week mentioning recent revisions to the Government’s tokenistic luxury-car road-tax threshold. The note (thank you, Mr Cobb) asked why we’d referenced the £40,000 price cap on new cars, given that the limit had recently been raised to £50k. Unbeknown to him, the latter was only applicable to EVs.

I’m not calling out Mr Cobb – a loyal reader since the inception of Auto Express almost four decades ago – but instead wondering how, as usual, our righteous leaders have managed to turn something seemingly simple into a set of rules that continue to mystify consumers. If it’s confusing you, the armchair automotive experts who digest this stuff week in week out, what does that say to the wider car-buying community?

For years, we’ve argued for a rise in the threshold, campaigning that £40,000 – despite being a huge amount of money – barely buys you a mid-size petrol SUV these days, let alone a fuel-efficient hybrid or electric alternative. When the powers that be floated the idea of including EVs in the luxury VED banding, our eyes rolled once again; why does a government that apparently wants to promote a clean, zero-emissions future, bite the hand that feeds it?

News that the departing PM, Sir Keir Starmer, is scrapping a selection of road and energy projects to free up much-needed funds for other essential initiatives doesn’t bode well either. Cancelling important road plans that ease the lives of the hard-working, tax-paying population will put stress on essential journeys and place undue pressure on our national network.

Now is the time to back Britain’s motorists and lay out a clear path for the next decade and beyond – one that doesn’t alter depending on which way the wind is blowing. That includes the grey cloud that is the unachievable ZEV mandate; the public, and the brands building cars for an increasingly discerning market, deserve clarity – sooner rather than later. 

If things go the way they appear to be going and The Right Honourable Andy Burnham takes the reins, we need to see a cabinet that puts the people first, without unnecessarily penalising those who rely on their humble hatchback to go about their daily business.

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