Britons are being prepared to see a number of driving law changes over the coming years following the landslide victory of Labour in this week’s General Election.
Keir Starmer’s dominated the vote winning 412 seats in a staggering election campaign which saw the Conservatives lose 250 seats and Rishi Sunak ousted as Prime Minister.
With Labour taking control of Parliament in the coming days, motorists will be looking at the party to improve their lives, cut costs and crack down on schemes that make it more difficult to get behind the wheel.
Following the landslide election win, GB News has rounded up the driving law changes and motoring pledges that could be realised in the near future under a Labour Government.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailingmotoring@gbnews.uk
Labour said it would consider fuel duty on a budget-by-budget case
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Fuel duty
Millions of drivers have dealt with expensive petrol and diesel costs in the last two years, despite the 5p per litre cut on the rate of fuel duty that has been extended by the Conservative Government in successive Spring Budgets.
Keir Starmer spoke to GB News about the future of the fuel duty cut and what Labour would do to ease pressure at the pumps for motorists. He told Political Editor Christopher Hope: “On fuel duty, obviously we are very sensitive to this because we know how impactful it is.
“Every year we’ve supported the position of keeping that frozen. It’s a budget-by-budget issue but I would say to anyone with concerns on this to check our track record.
“We’ve always said freeze the fuel duty. That’s our long history and we do it for a purpose.”
Labour will look to slash car insurance costs for hard-pressed motorists
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Car insurance
The cost of motor insurance has also been an issue for millions of Britons since the pandemic with average costs for some drivers reaching as much as £3,000, while others struggle to get cheap quotes despite being a reliable driver.
Louise Haigh, who is expected to be made Transport Secretary once Keir Starmer unveils his cabinet, spoke about the need for Labour to address the high prices given that around one million people have cancelled their insurance policy as costs reach unaffordable levels.
This will involve calling on the Competition and Markets Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate whether insurers are engaging in unfair practices, such as a postcode lottery which could unfairly target ethnic minorities and those on lower incomes.
Potholes
The new majority party has pledged to fix one million more potholes every year to tackle expensive repair costs. It is estimated that there are now 100 times more potholes on roads than there are craters on the moon.
Speaking previously, Louise Haigh said: “The Conservatives have left Britain’s roads plagued with potholes and have sat back as car insurance costs have spiralled out of control.”
Labour claims that investment in local road maintenance would deliver around £6.50 in benefits for every pound spent compared to less than £2 from the A27 bypass.
Labour will reinstate the 2030 deadline to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars
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Car ban
Keir Starmer and Labour have been proactive in supporting the return of the original 2030 date to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans, despite Rishi Sunak moving the deadline last September in sweeping changes to net zero regulations.
In the “Change” manifesto, Labour said it would “give certainty to manufacturers by restoring the phase-out date of 2030 for new cars with internal combustion engines”.
Speaking at the time of the original announcement from Rishi Sunak, Labour said it was a reckless idea to introduce such a massive change that impacts drivers and industry with very little notice.
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Labour said it would introduce so-called ‘EV battery passports’
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Electric cars
As with most other political parties, Labour promised to oversee a rapid rollout of new public electric vehicle chargers.
According to data from Zapmap, there are 64,775 public charging devices across the UK at 33,829 different locations, with more than 2,000 being installed in June 2024. There are still hopes that the UK will install 300,000 chargers by the end of the decade.
People looking to buy second-hand electric vehicles will also be backed by the pledge to “standardise the information supplied on the condition of batteries”, with so-called EV battery passports, which is to become a requirement in the European Union in 2027.
