Sue Hayman responds to Government’s plans to ban all new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040

Sue
Hayman MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs,
commenting on the Government’s plans to ban all new petrol and diesel cars and
vans from 2040, said:

“We
have had seven years of illegal air pollution under this Conservative Government
who have only acted after being dragged through the courts.

“Despite
the scale of the problem of illegal air pollution, we are presented today with
further consultations and delays, a squeamish attitude to clean air zones,
shunting the problem onto local authorities and no detail about how the Government’s
2040 target will be achieved. With nearly 40 million people living in areas
with illegal levels of air pollution, action is needed now, not in 23 years’
time.

“This
all comes after years of cuts to grants for electric vehicles and just days
after the Government announced scrapping the electrification of rail lines and
the introduction of diesel trains.

“A
Labour Government will introduce a new Clean Air Act to drive challenging
emissions reduction targets, introduce a network of clean air zones and invest
in greener, integrated public transport systems for the long term.”