The Labour Party has announced it will reinstate the Government’s previous 2030 ban on petrol and diesel car sales if it wins the next general election.
Shadow Environment Secretary Steve Reed made the shock revelation straight after Rishi Sunak announced a number of net zero measures will now be scrapped.
The Prime Minister vowed to be straight with the British public about the trade-offs in pursuing a net zero agenda as he announced the controversial car ban will be pushed back to 2035.
However, Labour’s Croydon North MP revealed Sir Keir Starmer would pivot policy back to the one introduced by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2020.
WATCH NOW: Rishi Sunak announces net zero U-turns
“Industry has been gearing up towards 2030 as the date by which you can no longer buy a brand new petrol vehicle,” he told the BBC.
“You could keep the car that you’ve got if it’s petrol, you don’t have to get rid of that, this is about the sale of new vehicles and if we still allow petrol vehicles to be sold at that point we’re not going to hit our net zero targets for the 2030s.
“That means we’re going to miss our targets for 2050 by which we’re supposed to have a fully carbon free economy”.
Labour is on track to win the next general election with a stonking majority, recent opinion polls have suggested.
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Steve Reed, Labour MP for Croydon North, outside Croydon Custody Centre in south LondonPAA survey by Deltapoll gave Sir Keir a whopping 24 per cent lead over Sunak’s Tories.
Such a lead could translate to a record-breaking Labour majority of 352 in the House of Commons.
Reed was commenting on Sunak’s decision to push back a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars to 2035.
He said: “I expect by 2030 the vast majority of cars sold will be electric.
Rishi Sunak rolled back a number of net zero pledgesPA“Why? Because the costs are reducing, the range is improving, the charging infrastructure is growing.
“People are choosing electric vehicles to such an extent that we're registering a new one every 60 seconds.
“But I also think, at least for now, it should be you, the consumer, that makes that choice, not Government forcing you to do it.”
Responding to Labour’s comments on Sunak’s U-turn, a Tory spokesperson said: “Labour aren't being clear with the country on the upfront costs and practicalities of introducing electric cars.
“The Prime Minister understands the trade offs households face.
A Renault Twizy, an electric car, is charged form an electric car charging point near to Covent garden market in London. PA“That's why he's set out a fair plan that protects families budgets and consumer choice.
"Starmer should let families and firms decide what's right for them.”
A snap poll by YouGov suggested a majority of the public supports Sunak’s deadline extension.
Around one-in-three Britons (34 per cent) welcome the back but 50 per cent support Sunak’s delay.
The number soars to 70 per cent with 2019 Tory voters and up to 67 per cent among 2016 Brexit backers.
