New data analysis reveals that areas with lower median incomes are less likely to have EVs or EV infrastructure. (Alamy)
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A group of Labour MPs has urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to relax electric vehicle (EV) targets, arguing that they risk exacerbating regional inequality.
As the Labour government debates watering down the proposals, a trio of its backbenchers has told PoliticsHome that ministers should rethink the policy of requiring 80 per cent of all new car sales to be electric by 2030.
Luke Akehurst, MP for North Durham, said the government must “make sure that the transition to electric vehicles works for ordinary working people”. Akehurst was joined by Smethwick MP Gurinder Josan and Mansfield MP Steve Yemm.
The MPs pointed to new analysis by the Open Road Partnership, which they say shows the EV rollout is set to benefit people with higher median incomes, while those with lower incomes will miss out because of affordability and a lack of EV infrastructure in their areas.
The Open Road Partnership, which represents businesses across the automotive and mobility sectors, looked at 632 parliamentary constituencies in England, Scotland and Wales.
The analysis found that the most challenged constituencies for adopting EVs, where wages are almost £11,000 lower than the least challenged, also have more than three times as many drivers competing for public or workplace chargers, and the least access to off-street parking.
As things stand, car manufacturers are required to make sure 80 per cent of all sales are electric by 2030, before reaching 100 per cent in 2035. The total phase-out was originally meant to take place in 2030. However, the last Conservative government pushed it back five years in response to industry warnings that businesses would not be ready.
Now, ministers are under fresh industry pressure to relax its targets, backed by Labour MPs who believe the current proposals risk leaving poorer constituencies behind.
On Sunday, The Guardian reported that de facto deputy prime minister Louise Haigh would this week finalise plans to reduce the 2030 target, likely to around 60 per cent.
“We can’t expect families to shoulder the costs of switching before the infrastructure and affordability are in place,” Akehurst told PoliticsHome.
“The government must reduce the 2030 target for electric vehicles from 80 per cent of sales, to allow for a fairer, realistic transition, giving communities like mine the time and support they need to make the switch.”
Yemm, the Labour MP for Mansfield, said: “If we are serious about the transition to EVs, towns like Mansfield cannot be left behind because the charging infrastructure is not there or because the cost of making the switch remains out of reach.”
Josan MP added: “Drivers in Smethwick cannot be expected to make the transition to EVs on the same terms as areas where people are more likely to have a driveway, easy access to home charging and greater disposable income. Data shows the practical realities of switching to an EV vary significantly depending on where you live.”
However, any move to relax EV targets risks putting the government on a collision course with climate campaigners and the party’s environmentally-minded MPs, particularly after the recent decision to approve drilling for gas at the Jackdaw site.
Labour MPs recently told PoliticsHome that an upcoming announcement on whether drilling at the Rosebank oilfield will go ahead would be one of the most contentious decisions for the Burnham government as it tries to balance net zero commitments with shorter-term cost-of-living relief.
This week, Burnham will travel to Turkey for his first COP summit as Prime Minister, where world leaders are expected to be warned that 2026 is set to be the hottest year on record.
Lizzi Collinge, the Labour MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, told The Guardian: “The upcoming decision on the ZEV mandate will have a huge climate impact, possibly the biggest one that’s on the PM’s desk.
“But it will also set the direction for tackling the cost of living and helping get our energy prices down over the coming decade.”