Cameron drops support for 'green' road tax
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
David Cameron dropped his support for higher road tax as he pitched for the support of hard-pressed motorists rather than the green vote.
The Tory leader clashed with Gordon Brown over the Government's plans to impose retrospective rises of up to £200 in vehicle excise duty (VED) on cars up to seven years old.
Last year, Mr Cameron welcomed a Tory policy review that called for VED on the most polluting cars to be up to £500 more than for the greenest vehicles and a "showroom tax" of up to 10 per cent on "gas guzzlers".
Allies say he now believes it is not the right time to "clobber the motorist" further at a time of rising petrol prices and when families are feeling the pinch as the economy slows. Last night the Tories denied the party was abandoning the "green agenda" which became a symbol of Mr Cameron's modernising drive.
"We will increase the proportion of taxation raised through green taxes by rebalancing taxation away from taxing 'good' things, like jobs and investment, towards taxing 'bad' things, like pollution and carbon emissions," said a party source.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments