Rishi Sunak vows to end the war on motorists with review of anti-car policies as furious drivers say it’s about time
RISHI Sunak has ordered a review of hated low-traffic neighbourhoods — but campaigners urged him to do much MORE to end the war on motorists.
MPs and motoring groups demanded additional action from the PM to target anti-car policies and protect cash-strapped drivers.
They also pressured Mr Sunak to push back the 2030 cut-off date for new petrol and diesel engines.
It came after the PM vowed to review hated low traffic neighbourhoods amid concerns about congestion surrounding them.
He said “The vast majority of people in the country use their cars to get around and are dependent on their cars.
“I just want to make sure people know that I’m on their side in supporting them to use their cars to do all the things that matter to them.”
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But his MPs urged him to go further — and win the party votes.
Greg Smith, who chairs the Transport Committee, said: “Labour are weak on this.
“While they flip-flop, we must stand firmly on the side of motorists.”
It comes after the Tories’ recent victory in the Uxbridge by-election.
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Locals revolted against Labour London mayor Sadiq Khan’s extension of the Ultra Low Emission Zone to all the capital’s boroughs.
Nearly 700,000 car drivers could be liable to pay the daily £12.50 Ulez charge when the scheme expands next month, the RAC revealed.
Mr Smith added: “Ulez and LTNs are just the tip of the iceberg.
“We need a total turnaround on motoring policy that demonstrates we understand the value of the car to everyday life for the vast majority of Brits. Set Britain’s motorists free!”
In addition, 43 Tory MPs and peers signed a joint letter calling on Mr Sunak to delay the ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars from the current deadline of 2030.
The PM has insisted “we are not considering a delay”.
MP Marco Longhi said: “Everybody wants a better planet to leave behind for our children but this should happen in a pragmatic, achievable and fair way.
“There is simply no way that electric cars are either affordable or practical for much of the population.”
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Party colleague Iain Duncan Smith warned: “If we don’t move the 2030 date, we will completely destroy our car industry, leave us more dependent on China, and end up making the cost-of-living crisis worse.”
Motorists’ champ Howard Cox said: “Rishi’s words are a good sign in the lead-up to a general election, where motorists want to see the 2030 new diesel and petrol car sales ban scrapped. Do that, Rishi, and you’ve a real chance of winning millions of votes.”
BLADE RUNNER CAM WAR
By Daniel Hammond
RAGE at anti-motorist schemes is spreading with London’s Ulez cameras vandalised and removed and other cities’ Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN) sabotaged.
A group dubbed the Blade Runners claims to have snipped cables to Ulez “spies” in the capital and taken them as trophies.
One vandal boasted of removing 34 and said of Mayor Sadiq Khan’s scheme: “We don’t want this. It restricts our movements.”
Two men have been charged with smashing cameras but the Blade Runners have vowed to continue their campaign.
Elsewhere, the introduction of LTNs has caused upset and met with protests and damage.
New cameras, bollards and planters aimed at spying on, and redirecting, traffic have been destroyed and vandalised.
A camera post was sliced in two with the message “No LTN” daubed on a wall in Edinburgh.
Thousands of people protested in Oxford over LTNs in the city and barriers were torched.
The local authority is one of several — mostly Labour — supporting the so-called 15-minute city plan, including Bristol, Birmingham, Canterbury, Ipswich and Sheffield.
More than 40 business owners in Hammersmith and Fulham in West London opposed plans to introduce LTN controls.
The council relented and axed the scheme. Thousands of people marched in protest at a similar scheme in Ealing, West London.