Every petrol and diesel driver handed 5-year warning by new government

Everyone who drives a petrol or diesel car has been handed a five-year warning by the new government.

Labour has been elected in a landslide victory and has pledged in its manifesto to put together several changes for drivers, including focusing on making car insurance cheaper, spending money fixing potholes and issuing new rules on selling second-hand electric car batteries.

One major change is the moving of the ban on petrol and diesel cars back to 2030 from 2035, meaning those hoping to buy a new petrol or diesel car have only five years and five months left to do so, unless they opt for second hand.

Originally, the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars was introduced by the Conservative government for 2030. Then Rishi Sunak’s government pushed the ban back to 2035, and now Keir Starmer is set to restore it to the original 2030 date.

It means motorists won’t be able to buy new petrol or diesel vehicles from 2030 onwards.

Labour’s manifesto says: “We will fix an additional one million potholes across England in each year of the next parliament, funded by deferring the A27 bypass, which is poor value for money.

“Labour will further support drivers by tackling the soaring cost of car insurance. And, as set out in our automotive sector plan, Labour will support the transition to electric vehicles by accelerating the roll out of charge points, giving certainty to manufacturers by restoring the phase-out date of 2030 for new cars with internal combustion engines, and supporting buyers of second-hand electric cars by standardising the information supplied on the condition of batteries.”