UK Conservatives Will Scrap Petrol, Diesel Car Ban If Returned To Power, Says Party Leader, Kemi Badenoch
UK Conservatives Will Scrap Petrol, Diesel Car Ban If Returned To Power, Says Party Leader, Kemi Badenoch
UK Conservatives Will Scrap Petrol, Diesel Car Ban If Returned To Power, Says Party Leader, Kemi Badenoch
Under current government policy, from 2030 all new cars sold in the UK must be electric or hybrid as part of efforts to meet the country’s legally binding target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The leader of the UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has declared that her party will scrap the planned ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles if it wins the next general election, describing the policy as “economic self-harm” that risks crippling Britain’s car industry.
According to BBC, Badenoch made the pledge in an opinion article in the Sunday Telegraph, where she described the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate as a “well-meaning but ultimately destructive piece of legislation.”
Under current government policy, from 2030 all new cars sold in the UK must be electric or hybrid as part of efforts to meet the country’s legally binding target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
However, Badenoch argued that forcing the transition through rigid deadlines and quotas would damage domestic manufacturing while benefiting foreign competitors, particularly China.
“The only winners in this economic self-harm are China,” she said, warning that Britain risked surrendering its automotive supply chains and industrial capacity to overseas rivals.
Her comments come shortly after a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has been pushing within the European Union for a softening of plans to ban new petrol and diesel vehicles across the bloc by 2035.
Six EU countries, including Italy, have recently urged fellow member states to rethink the phase-out, citing concerns over industrial competitiveness.
Badenoch claimed the EU was already signalling a retreat from a full ban, adding that the UK risked isolating itself by pressing ahead.
“The reality is that the EU’s change of heart on EVs will leave Labour even more isolated, and by pressing ahead alone, we are placing our domestic industry at a disadvantage while giving others the opportunity to dominate global supply chains,” she said.
While insisting that a future Conservative government would still pursue cleaner transport, Badenoch stressed that the shift must be driven by “affordability, practicality and technological progress,” rather than what she called “unrealistic mandates that weaken domestic manufacturing and empower foreign competitors.”
She said scrapping the ZEV mandate would give the UK “space” to rebuild its struggling car industry and adopt a more flexible approach to decarbonisation.
In its most recent Budget, the Labour-led government announced an additional £1.3 billion investment in the Electric Car Grant scheme to encourage drivers to switch to electric vehicles. Chancellor Rachel Reeves also unveiled plans to introduce an Electric Vehicle Excise Duty from April 2028, charging drivers of battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars 3 pence per mile.
The ban on petrol and diesel car sales was first introduced in 2020 under then Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Badenoch, who served as a cabinet member at the time, opposed the policy. The deadline was later pushed back to 2035 by Rishi Sunak, before Labour pledged in its 2024 election manifesto to bring it forward again.
Reacting to Badenoch’s comments, a spokesperson for the Department for Transport said the government remained “committed to phasing out all new non-zero emission car and van sales,” adding that “more drivers than ever are choosing electric.”
The next UK general election must be held by August 15, 2029, though the prime minister retains the power to call an earlier poll.
