Kemi Badenoch was business secretary when the law came into force
BBC journalist Jon Kay picked apart the Tories’ pledge to reverse the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles if the party wins the next election.
Speaking to Tory shadow transport secretary Richard Holden, Kay asked why the party was now scrapping a policy it introduced.
The Tories would also remove the legal requirement on carmakers to sell electrical vehicles.
Kay said: “I think people might be a bit confused by this because we’ve been told for ages that the move to electric and hybrid was good for the environment, so does this mean you don’t think the environment matters so much anymore?”.
Holden said “the environment matters hugely”, but that “It’s pretty clear we’re not going to hit these targets that have been imposed and brought forwards by the Labour government.”
He argued that banning petrol and diesel vehicle sales by 2035 would damage British manufacturing and cost taxpayers billions of pounds in subsidies to encourage electric vehicle uptake.
Kay reminded the shadow transport secretary that the Tories brought the policy in.
“You’re blaming the Labour government for bringing forward […] these rules, but let’s not forget it was you in government the Conservatives who introduced this zero emission vehicle mandate.
“In fact wasn’t it Kemi Badenoch herself who was business secretary when it came into force?”.
Holden said the key point was that Labour has brought the ban forward from 2035 to 2030.
Holden then said: “You’re quite right, we have changed position, the Conservative Party is under new leadership and we’re taking a different direction.”
“Yes but this leader was the business secretary when the law came in. It’s not just that she was part of the party, she was actually enforcing the legislation” Kay said.
Holden said Badenoch was “one of the few” to oppose the ban.
Kay highlighted that the ban on sale of new petrol and diesel cars is due to come into force in 2030, but there is unlikely to be an election before 2029.
Kay said Greenpeace had highlighted that “a U-turn at that stage would create chaos for consumers but also for the car industry.”
“It’s not realistic to come in in 2029 and then rip it all up and start again, is it?,” Kay said.
Holden said the Tories want to see the government change course on this issue, “so, as you say we don’t have to do this right at the last moment.”
The Tories move to scrap the ban on petrol and diesel vehicles comes as part of a broader shift toward climate scepticism and away from net zero commitments.
In March, Kemi Badenoch announced that the Conservatives would abandon the UK’s 2050 net zero target.
Speaking at an event hosted by an advertising agency that works for Shell, she claimed that achieving net zero would be “impossible” and would “bankrupt” the country.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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