Rachel Reeves’s EV tax raid is so stupid even greenies like me will switch back to petrol

I hate petrol cars, I hate pollution and I like the planet, says James Moore – but if the government is going to snuff out appetite for EVs with this bonkers tax then we might as well give up on the green energy transition

The biggest problem with Keir Starmer’s government is that it is allergic to good ideas and addicted to bad ones.

The latest example comes courtesy of a road-charging scheme for electric vehicles and hybrids, the very things that we have been urged to switch to with a view to cleaning up the mucky air choking our cities and forcing children to pack an inhaler alongside their books when they go to school. Not to mention tackling climate change.

They are the vehicles Ed Milliband needs us to drive if he’s ever to hit the net zero targets he dreams about, and the product that our ailing car industry gets clobbered with fines for failing to sell enough of.

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that the plans look like they have more holes in them than Tesco’s entire stock Swiss cheese. And Sainsbury’s and Aldi’s, all put together. According to the pre-budget rumour mill, electric motorists will pay 3p per mile with a lower rate for hybrids because they still use some petrol. To avoid accusations of imposing more cameras or “spy-in-the-sky” drones to police the system, drivers will be asked to estimate their annual usage and pay up front based on that.

‘If this one emerges as part of Rachel Reeves’ budget it will be symptomatic of the thing that is killing the government in which she serves. By contrast to the administrations of Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and even David Cameron, it has no plan’ (PA Wire)

If you over-estimate, as the honest amongst us probably will, the unused mileage will carry over, lowering the next bill. Under-estimate and you’ll have to top up. How will this be policed if you’re dishonest and repeatedly underestimate your mileage? Who knows or dares to dream? It is a nightmare for EV owners and clearly the work of some oily Spad in the Treasury who never has to trouble the real world by living in it.

I’ve been driving electric for a number of years now. Those who have made the switch will be aware of the challenges this imposes. EVs are expensive up front and also inconvenient.

That is not just because you have to pay through the nose to get anything approaching a decent range. The nation’s charging infrastructure is not what it might be. Even when you can find public charge points, you often have to download fiddly apps, which often don’t work and change every time you move from one council area to another.

It can also take an age to charge. Our family’s holiday to Yorkshire — five hours from London with a petrol engine — including travel time of the best part of a day because of the need for frequent charging stops.

However, I took the plunge because I’m a committed greenie. I have solar panels for the same reason, even though I’ll be lucky if they pay for themselves ever.

This is not true of everyone for whom economics and convenience are bigger issues. Persuading them to take the plunge requires incentives, such as the governments own Electric Car Grant, which this idiotic idea threatens to undermine.

People may well take one look at it and switch back to petrol. I know this because, honestly, it’s something I might end up doing. And I hate petrol cars. I hate pollution. I like the the planet.

That’s before one even gets to the inevitable rubbish that’s bound to accompany this. Governments don’t appear to be able to introduce schemes like this without requiring complicated, vexatious and intrusive forms which it takes a degree in government bureaucracy to be able to navigate. If you pay an accountant to help you with your taxes, this is going to net them an extra fee. Count on it.

Pity the poor carmakers, too. Their fines are going to go through the roof as the motoring public revolts and switches back to petrol. This could easily destroy what remains of the British automobile industry.

The reason why this numbskull proposal is being floated is, of course, because the Treasury’s receipts from vehicle excise duty are falling, partly because EV use is rising and they don’t use petrol. But partly also because the “temporary” freeze on the duty has turned permanent and it’s a levy even a tax-raising Chancellor is afraid to touch. Instead of hiking it last time around she taxed jobs instead, with predictably bad results.

So how would I address the revenue issue? One answer could be more toll roads, so you pay for the fancy and fast ones that are more expensive to maintain. I’ve driven in France where tolls are just part of life if you want to use the faster autoroutes. The French seem to have worked out that if you make something affordable by not charging too much, people will use the, and accept the fees to the exchequer’s benefit

You may have your own ideas and I’d be willing to bet this month’s salary that they’re better than this government’s.

If this one emerges as part of Rachel Reeves’ budget it will be symptomatic of the thing that is killing the government in which she serves. By contrast to the administrations of Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and even David Cameron, it has no plan. It is entirely reactive, coming up with a succession of stupid ideas on the fly.

We’re told there will be consultations. If they’re conducted in good faith (don’t laugh) they will leave this one steaming on the hard shoulder while our silly SpAd calls the AA for help.