Month: July 2023

Labour has blamed the expansion of the charge on high-pollution vehicles being expanded by its London mayor Sadiq Khan for the failure to snatch Boris Johnson’s former seat in the by-election.

Senior party figures cited the widening of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) scheme to the capital’s suburbs as responsible for Labour narrowly missing out on winning Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

The former prime minister held the west London seat with a majority of 7,210 in 2019 but the Tories retained it by just 495 votes over Labour in Thursday’s vote triggered by Mr Johnson’s resignation.

New Conservative MP Steve Tuckwell’s victory was the one piece of good news for Rishi Sunak after his party lost the former safe seats of Selby and Ainsty, and Somerton and Frome.

Labour frontbencher Steve Reed pinpointed the Sadiq Khan-backed scheme as a significant factor behind their failure to win in Uxbridge, which Mr Tuckwell suggested had essentially been a referendum on Ulez.

Speaking after the results were announced from the count at Queensmead Sports Centre, the shadow justice secretary told the PA news agency: “I think the winning Conservative candidate just said it, didn’t he? He said that if it wasn’t for Ulez, he believes Labour would have won this by-election.

“Clearly, it did resonate with a lot of people. They didn’t like the fact that Ulez was going to cost people more to drive around at a time when there’s a cost-of-living crisis going on. That’s exactly what Danny Beales was saying all the way through the campaign.

“But I think when the voters speak, any party that seeks to govern has to listen. So that’s what Labour will be doing after this.”

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner also blamed Ulez for the failure to snatch the seat.

She told BBC Breakfast: “I think one of the things we have to reflect on today is not only the mood against the Tories, but also the decision in Uxbridge was related to Ulez.

“The Uxbridge result shows that when you don’t listen to the voters, you don’t win elections.”

However, the London mayor was standing by the scheme.

A source close to Mr Khan said: “Winning Uxbridge and South Ruislip was always going to be a struggle for Labour.

“Sadiq has always been clear that expanding the Ulez was a really difficult decision, but necessary to save the lives of young and vulnerable Londoners.”

The Conservatives were looking to Uxbridge as the one piece of good news on an otherwise terrible night and will hope the focus on local issues can help them at the general election.

Polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice was clear the Tories are in “deep electoral trouble” following their by-election defeats.

But he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Labour must ask why its hold on the electorate is “apparently so weak” that when a local issue like the Ulez scheme in Uxbridge comes up they “don’t perform as they should”.

Mr Tuckwell told reporters after his victory: “My campaign has been incredibly single-minded and it’s really been in complete opposition to Ulez from the outset.

“That’s not me saying that, it’s not me that called the referendum on Ulez. It is the people of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.”

After saying “Sadiq Khan needs to listen”, he added: “Well, I think there will be Labour MPs in outer London boroughs who will be looking at this result tonight with sweaty palms.”

The Labour candidate, Danny Beales, had expressed his reservations about the policy, stating that the timing was not appropriate for expanding the £12.50 daily charge on cars that do not meet emissions standards.

The failure to overturn the Tory majority in the seat was dubbed “Uloss” by a party insider in a sign of the unease at Mr Khan’s plan.

Mr Tuckwell received 13,965 votes to Mr Beales’s 13,470 to claim the constituency for the Tories.

Mr Reed added: “There are going to be many lessons and I think the right thing to do would be to reflect on what’s happened this evening and have a think about what that might be and that we need to change and then come back and make sure that we are representing the aspirations and ambitions of the public.”

Asked what his party could have done differently, he said: “I think those responsible for that policy will need to reflect on what the voters have said and whether there’s an opportunity to change.”

A Labour spokesperson said: “This was always going to be a difficult battle in a seat that has never had a Labour MP and we didn’t even win in 1997.

“We know that the Conservatives crashing the economy has hit working people hard, so it’s unsurprising that the Ulez expansion was a concern for voters here in a by-election.”

Mr Johnson, who resigned in anticipation of the damning finding that he lied to Parliament with his partygate denials, said the result in Uxbridge was “fantastic news”.

“Well done Steve Tuckwell and the amazing Conservative council and association members,” he said.

“This shows the Conservatives can win in London and around the country.”

Rishi Sunak has said it was not just taxpayer money that enticed Tata to announce a new £4 billion battery factory in the UK which will create thousands of jobs.

After months of negotiations, Tata Son, the company behind Tata Group, said it had selected the UK for its next big battery investment.

The Indian conglomerate is widely reported to have chosen Somerset but refused to confirm the location.

It is planned to be one of Europe’s largest battery cell manufacturing sites when production starts in 2026, employing 4,000 people directly.

Each year around 40 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery cells will be produced at the site, enough to meet half of what Britain needs to produce annually by 2030, according to one estimate.

Tata had reportedly been eyeing two sites that could house its new European battery factory, with the other in Spain. It was not immediately clear why it chose Britain.

The Government confirmed it stepped in with subsidies to help Tata choose the UK site, but ministers and spokespeople repeatedly refused to give details.

Prime Minister Mr Sunak said: “When I was chancellor, I set up the automotive transformation fund, which was always there to provide targeted investment in strategic industries where we thought it would make sense.

“But what is crucial about an investment like this is it’s not just going to be about that, it’s going to be about the quality of the workforce that we have here, the quality of our infrastructure, the road and rail connections, the approach to regulation, the competitiveness of our tax regime, which we have changed to make it more attractive for businesses to invest.”

Downing Street would not be drawn on whether support from the Government was worth £500 million or even as much as £1 billion.

“Some of this stuff is commercially sensitive, it’s not in the UK’s interests to get into all the detail when negotiating with companies,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.

He promised, as did Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps, that the figures would come out at a later date.

Talking to Sky, Mr Shapps said: “The exact numbers on this will come out in the normal way. Because of the commercial sensitivities, they have to be released in the usual way.”

Asked on BBC Breakfast about a Financial Times report that the Government was providing £1.5 billion in subsidies, Mr Shapps said: “That doesn’t sound right to me.”

The Government’s support to “enable this investment” was acknowledged by Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran.

Tata refused to reveal the exact location it had chosen, but it has been heavily linked to Bridgwater in Somerset.

Because it is eight miles from the Hinkley nuclear power plant, the electricity grid in the area is likely to be already strong enough to handle the increased demand the factory will bring.

Gigafactories need access to a lot of electricity and big cables. For instance Britishvolt, a start-up that went bust earlier this year, chose the location of an old coal power plant in the North East of England.

On Thursday, voters in the Somerton and Frome constituency are to vote in a by-election to select a replacement for its former MP, David Warburton.

Asked if it was unusual to announce such a decision so close to polling day, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson said: “We would take any relevant advice in regards to by-elections in how we are making these announcements, as we have done with this.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters during a visit to Warwickshire: “Today’s announcement is a fantastic vote of confidence in the UK.

“Across the world, international businesses are showing that they are confident in the UK economy. They’re putting money behind that confidence and that is going to create real jobs and opportunity here at home.”

Mr Shapps said the investment will create 4,000 jobs directly and thousands more indirectly, such as in supply chains.

Tata did not say how many jobs it expects to create.

“This will produce a gigafactory that can produce about half the UK’s electric vehicles batteries,” Mr Shapps told Sky News.

“It has been nine months in negotiations, I’ve been involved with it throughout, including going to India.”

Earlier this year, Britishvolt went out of business.

Despite having little experience in the sector, it had promised to build the UK’s first gigafactory, but could not raise enough money to push ahead.

Vauxhall maker Stellantis said in May that it would struggle to make electric cars in the UK without changes to the Brexit deal.

It said it is vital to “reinforce the competitiveness of the UK by establishing battery production”.

West of England Labour mayor Dan Norris said: “After so many false starts, this is fantastic news for the West of England.

“However, the lack of a coherent industrial strategy means this historically rail-connected site will only be accessible by road. That’s a mistake.”

An incoming border system feared to cause major delays for UK holidaymakers at Dover was designed “without any consideration” for cross-Channel travel, MPs heard.

John Keefe, chief corporate and public affairs officer at Getlink, which operates the Channel Tunnel, said it will be difficult to process passengers in cars and coaches once the European Union’s Entry/Exit System (EES) is introduced.

The launch of the scheme has been repeatedly delayed and there is speculation it will not come into force until after the Paris Olympics in summer 2024.

The system is expected to involve travellers from non-EU countries such as the UK having their fingerprints scanned and a photograph taken to register them on a database the first time they enter a member state.

There are concerns this will cause long queues for train and ferry passengers travelling from Dover as border checks for people entering the EU are carried out there before they embark on their cross-Channel journeys.

This is in contrast to flights, which will involve passengers’ details being taken at destination airports.

The Port of Dover already suffers from long queues at peak periods due to French border officials carrying out enhanced post-Brexit checks.

Giving evidence to the Commons’ European Scrutiny Committee, Mr Keefe said: “This scheme was designed for airports, quite simply without any consideration for the nature of transport that happens across the Channel.

“For a one ticket, one seat, one person approach in a large indoor environment where there is space to put both kiosks for the data capture and also additional space for border officials, it’s easy.

“Where it struggles is when cars drive through large open spaces – car parks – in all weathers, in all lights, at all times of the day or night.

“The data capture has to look at individuals who are deep inside a vehicle. That then becomes very complicated.

“The scheme is not designed for the purpose it’s being addressed to. It’s designed for comfortable airports in EU territory.”

Port of Dover chief executive Doug Bannister, who has previously warned EES could increase the time it takes to process a car from around 90 seconds to 10 minutes, described EES as a “critical” issue which could affect “the health of the nation”.

He told the committee: “Half of our freight traffic is destined north of London. It is impossible to imagine levelling up the country if the Short Straits is not working well.

“This new regulation that’s coming in has got a potential large strategic impact on the health and prosperity of the nation.

“That’s why we feel it is so important.”

Mr Bannister added that in the past six months “demonstrable progress” has been made by Government officials showing a “willingness to engage” with France and the EU Commission in an attempt to minimise disruption from EES.

Model Jodie Kidd has been electrocuted with over a million volts of lightning in a stunt for a new electric Kia SUV.

Kidd, who is best known for her modelling career but also a massive passion for cars, wore a special chainmail Faraday suit that is able to conduct electricity around her.

Sitting on a raised platform with a special ‘lightning machine’, it is only the suit that served as protection. Kidd was able to control the electricity with her hands and shoot lightning using just her fingertips.

Jodie Kidd said: “Being electrocuted was one of the most petrifying things I’ve ever done – but also such an amazing experience. Not many people can say they have had a million volts through their body and been able to shoot lightning with their fingers!”

The stunt was carried out to mark the launch of Kia’s new electric EV9 SUV – a model specifically designed for families – which will sit at the top of the firm’s line-up of battery-powered models.

Kia has also separately carried out a study looking into how parents are influenced by their children when it comes to EVs, with 26 per cent of the 2,000 adults surveyed saying they have been encouraged by their kids.

Of those that have been spurred on, 36 per cent put it down to their children learning about environmental issues in school, while 35 per cent believe electric cars are cool.

Kidd added: “As a parent, I know exactly how important the environment is to the next generation. I have had many conversations with my son Indio about what we can do to live more sustainably – including buying an electric car.”

Drivers are being warned over severe road congestion this weekend as nearly 13 million leisure trips are expected across the UK.

The RAC said it estimates 12.6 million people will embark on day trips or holidays by car between Friday and Monday, causing “bumper-to-bumper traffic”.

The majority of schools in England and Wales break up for summer on Friday.

That is set to be the worst day for congestion as holidaymakers compete for road space with commuters.

Transport analysis company Inrix predicted that traffic hotspots will include the M5 south from near Bristol (Junction 15) to Bridgwater (Junction 23), which is a popular route for holidaymakers travelling to the South West.

Another motorway stretch likely to experience hold-ups is the M25 clockwise between Junction 10 for the A3 to Kingston and Junction 6 for the A22 to East Grinstead.

Drivers wanting to avoid long queues are advised not to travel on major roads between late morning and early evening from Thursday to Sunday.

RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: “There’s no doubting the UK remains an ever-popular holiday destination with millions of drivers expected to take to the roads at the end of this week as schools in England and Wales close for summer.

“With the West Country leading the pack when it comes to the most popular part of the country to visit, it means routes heading south and west are likely to encounter some of the longest queues.

“Anyone using the M5 southbound from Bristol should anticipate bumper-to-bumper traffic, with those travelling outside peak periods most likely to have a better journey.

“We’re seeing an enormous increase in breakdowns this year as drivers dependent on their vehicles for leisure and work contend with cripplingly high prices, leading to some scrimping on car maintenance as a result.

“It’s for this reason we’re urging drivers to take action to avoid a summer surge of breakdowns.

“No driver should set off before a long journey without carrying out a few basic checks to ensure their cars have got the right levels of oil and coolant, as well as making sure all tyres have plenty of tread and are properly inflated.”

People who drive their car for work are being short-changed because the Government has not updated mileage rates for more than a decade, according to a report.

Analysis by motoring research charity the RAC Foundation found employees should be entitled to around 63p per mile tax-free when driving their own cars during work.

The rate, which is set by the Treasury, has been frozen at 45p per mile since 2011 despite large increases in motoring bills and inflation since then.

Someone covering 5,000 miles a year in their own car working for an employer that uses the tax-free rate only receives £2,250.

They would get an additional £900 under a rate of 63p per mile.

The study was conducted for a report by Unison into the impact of the rate freeze on frontline public service workers such as NHS, social care, police and local government employees.

The trade union said one in five workers in that category are required to drive for their job.

It found that some staff are using up annual leave or calling in sick because they have run out of fuel and cannot afford to fill up their vehicles.

Some social care employees have been forced to sell their cars to cover other payments, meaning they make fewer visits as using public transport increases travel times, according to the report.

The RAC Foundation analysis was based on Office for National Statistics figures showing the cost of motoring was 41% higher in April compared with the same month in 2011.

Cost rises affecting drivers over that period include tax and insurance (up 183%), maintenance (up 48%), vehicle prices (up 16%) and fuel (up 12%).

RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding said: “We know that some of our most important workers – those employed in health and social services, and in supporting roles – are being left out of pocket by the failure of ministers to sanction an uplift in the amount per mile they can receive tax-free for getting around to do their job.

“These aren’t board members and well-paid executives in new saloons, but key workers in five to 10-year-old cars who can ill afford to be subsidising the rest of us for the cost of carrying out their critical roles.

“Tax cuts might be off the Prime Minister’s agenda for the time being but, surely, fair tax treatment for these key workers should be a significant concern for the Chancellor in the face of a recognised cost-of-living squeeze.

“We think the Treasury should commit to an urgent review of the mileage rate and not leave it another decade before revisiting it again.”

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Mileage rates are woefully out of date. No-one should pay a penalty effectively for doing their job, least of all those providing vital services.

“Petrol prices have skyrocketed. Care workers, nurses and other frontline employees can barely make their incomes stretch to cover the basics, let alone the costs of using their vehicles for work.

“The Government must tackle low pay now, not threaten to hold public sector wages down. Essential staff shouldn’t be out of pocket for going to work.

“A failure to act now risks worsening the already dire staffing crisis.”

Employers can pay their staff whatever they want when reimbursing them for driving for work in their own cars, but many use the 45p per mile rate to avoid tax implications.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “Whilst employers can reimburse at a higher level, the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments aim to reflect the average costs of running a vehicle, which in turn helps keep the administrative burden low and reimbursing simple.

“As we work to bring down inflation, we have also taken decisive action worth £94 billion to support drivers with the cost of living, which is worth £3,300 on average per household over this year and last and includes a two year 5p fuel duty cut worth £200 for drivers.”

Two members of the public escaped without serious injuries after a wheel flew off a classic Jaguar and collided with the crowd during a high-speed run at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The MK1 Jaguar was attempting a run up the famous hillclimb during Thursday’s (July 13) event when the rear left wheel became detached from the vehicle and quickly rolled towards the crowd at the side of the track.

After several bounces, the wheel flew over the straw bale barriers and collided with two members of the public. The track was quickly closed with emergency services in attendance within minutes.

Fortunately, Goodwood has now confirmed that the spectators escaped without serious injury.

In a statement, the festival’s organisers said: “Following the incident on the hillclimb we’re pleased to confirm that there were no serious injuries and those involved were able to go back to enjoying the event.”

It came amid a day of high drama at the Festival of Speed, during which a Hyundai electric race car carried straight on at a bend near the start of the hillclimb and flew head-long into the barriers.

The event – which runs from July 13 to July 16 – how enters its second day, with wet weather hampering proceedings and forcing the famous Red Arrows to cancel their planned display.

A collection of 300 model cars worth around £20,000 is heading to auction next week.

Collected over a period of 20 years, they’ve all come from a single owner who had a specialist interest in classic German motorsport-bred cars. The first model that was purchased was a 1989 BMW M3 ‘Jagermeister’ DTM car, which carries an estimate of £80 and £120.

The collection of cars was amassed by Alan Barrett, who recently passed away and is now being sold by his son Geoff, who said that no family holiday could be complete without purchasing another model for his collection.

Geoff Barrett said: “Dad loved cars and all things mechanical. We have our memories of him and have kept or given away a few of the cars to people that meant something to him. We do not want the collection that he loved so much to gather dust and are hoping that model car enthusiasts will be able to enjoy them just as he did.”

Alongside the collection of model cars at his home in Glasgow, he also bought tractors and Lego versions.

The collection of 300 models are being sold as 180 lots, and are going under the hammer with Special Auction Services, based in Newbury, Berkshire, on July 18.

David Kemp, toy expert at Special Auction Services, said: “One of the fantastic things about Alan’s collection is that it came about from his love of the actual cars themselves and that he was also interested in the mechanics of making these scale models.

“Alan’s collection is one of the most significant 1:18 scale model collections we’ve ever been asked to sell and the lots on offer are sure to appeal to collectors worldwide.”

The combined lots of the model cars are estimated to fetch £20,000.

Drop-off fees for drivers have increased at more than a third of major UK airports in the past year, according to new research.

Eight of the 21 airports analysed have raised or introduced charges for dropping off passengers since August 2022, an RAC investigation found.

Drivers should “brace themselves” for record high fees, the motoring services company said.

The biggest upswing in existing so-called kiss and fly charges – which are typically levied for dropping off someone as close to a terminal as possible – are at Southampton and Belfast International airports.

The former has raised its fee from £4 to £6 for 20 minutes, while the latter has hiked its price from £1 to £3 for 10 minutes.

Belfast City Airport previously allowed drivers to drop passengers near its terminal for free, but this now costs £3 for 10 minutes.

Aberdeen, Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford and Liverpool John Lennon airports have each added £1 to their fees.

Despite not raising its price this year, Stansted airport continues to top the table for the most expensive drop-off cost.

The Essex airport’s initial fee is £7 for 15 minutes.

Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, has frozen its fee of £5 with no time limit.

Passengers being dropped off at airports by taxis and private hire vehicles generally have the fees added to their fares.

Cardiff, Inverness and London City were the only airports analysed which allow free drop-offs outside terminals.

Many airports offer free options for dropping passengers off in mid or long-stay car parks connected to terminals by buses.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said motorists being hit by annual hikes in airport charges has become “an annual ritual”.

He went on: “Drivers should brace themselves for jaw-dropping prices when they drop their loved ones off at the terminal.

“Thankfully the proportion of airports hiking fees this year is lower than last year, but that will be little consolation as charges across the board have never been so high.

“What’s perhaps more frustrating is that many travellers will call on their friends or family to take them to the airport because of persistent industrial action on the rail network meaning that for many, being dropped off at the airport by car is the only reliable way to make their flight on time.

“Doing your research ahead of travelling has never been more important.

“Many airports offer a free or reduced-rate drop-off area away from the terminal in long-stay car parks where travellers can hop on a shuttle bus connection, saving their driver incurring more expensive charges nearer the departures building.

“Drivers tempted to drop loved ones on the roads inside the boundaries of the airport should beware as many enforce no-stopping areas with cameras which could lead to hefty penalty charges.”

Jo Rhodes, deputy editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: “Travellers will be painfully aware of the spiralling costs of dropping a loved one at the airport.

“These latest figures come as a stark reminder that holiday budgets are being stretched at every turn, with higher hotel and flight prices already making a getaway unaffordable for many.”

The government has set out new requirements for public electric car chargers that aim to tackle issues with unreliability and complex payment methods.

Announced yesterday, the rules, set out in the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, stipulate various requirements for public EV charging providers.

One of the main demands is that rapid chargers need to be ‘on average, reliable for 99 per cent of the time during each calendar year’. Charge point providers will be forced to publish information on their reliability.

The government is also looking to address the grey area surrounding payment. Currently, some charging points require apps or pre-authenticated RFID cards to ‘unlock’ a charger. But for all chargers delivering above 8kW of power, they will be required to have a contactless payment feature to speed up the charge.

They will also need to enable ‘payment roaming’, whereby drivers will no longer need to have multiple apps from each charging provider in order to enable a charge to start, as is sometimes the case currently.

However, no official date has been given as to when these regulations will come into force, and once they are, operators will have a year to introduce this functionality.

Clearer pricing is another requirement, with charging operators being forced to display the cost of charging in pence per kilowatt hour before a charge has begun.

Toby Poston, director of corporate affairs at the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), said: “Public charging anxiety and frustration is one of the top reasons drivers give for not going EV, so these new measures represent a massive step in addressing them.”