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The UK general election is on 8 June 2017. All the main political parties have now released their manifesto pledges. We look at what they could mean for motorists in the UK over the next few years.

Liberal Democrat manifesto

The Lib Dems have made the ambitious pledge that, if elected, they would ban diesel car sales by 2025. They would pair this with the much-discussed diesel scrappage scheme, with cash incentives for drivers to trade in pre-Euro 4 diesels.

Ultra low emissions zones also featured in their manifesto, with the Lib Dems wanting to expand the system to ten towns and cities. Currently only in place in central London, ultra low emissions zones require those driving vehicles that don’t meet emissions targets to pay a daily fee. Drivers who don’t pay the fee can face fines of up to £130 under the current system.

Our View: It’s a sensible plan to create more ultra low emission zones. However, the idea of banning diesel cars by 2025 – with no mention of diesel trucks or public transport vehicles – means the plan lacks credibility and smacks of a party that is kicking ideas around rather than having a solid, deliverable plan.

Conservative manifesto

Perhaps predictably, the Tory manifesto included no news for motorists. Perhaps the Conservatives didn’t want to risk upsetting a large proportion of their voters (diesel drivers). Then again, maybe it was the knowledge that they may soon have to deliver on the controversial pollution plan that kept them quiet.

The draft pollution report was certainly met with dissatisfaction when it was released in April. Having seen the uproar that their watered-down pledges to tackle pollution in major towns and cities caused, it seems the Tories decided to stay quiet on the subject, leaving the battle against pollution to local councils.

Our View: We expect to see the Conservatives break their silence on motoring matters after the election, particularly in the Autumn budget. After all, there’s no point in them aggravating motorists until they’ve won the election. Move along, nothing to see here!

Labour manifesto

The Labour pledge was one of the more progressive when it came to motoring.

The party pledged to retrofit thousands of diesel buses in high pollution areas – a contrast to the charges we’ve seen suggested by both other parties.

If Labour were to win the election, they also claim they would put the UK at the forefront of low emission vehicle manufacture.

Other notable pledges included 5G motorways by 2019 and scrapping hospital parking fees, subsidised by tax increases in other areas.

Our View: There are some real vote winners included and their plans do seems to be well thought out. However, as is the case with all the Labour manifesto reading, it feels more like a wish list than a coherent plan that they actually expect to deliver. 5G on motorways sounds amazing but it will cost billions – where is the money coming from?

What do you think about the general election manifesto pledges? Leave a comment below to let us know.

Image credit – Pixabay 

 

 

 

 

 

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