Motorists must get payout for diesel betrayal, say Tory MPs
DIESEL drivers must be offered cash from the Government to exchange their cars before being hit by any new taxes, senior Tories have demanded in a backlash against new plans.
Backbenchers have warned the Government risks overseeing a “betrayal” of diesel owners if it fails to set up a comprehensive scrappage scheme. At least a dozen Tory MPs favour the move – more than Theresa May’s Commons majority – with some privately saying they could rebel in Parliament if the Government fails to act.
It comes after Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, announced a ban on selling new diesel and petrol cars by 2040 to help improve air quality. The policy marks a major reversal in position from the New Labour years, when people were incentivised to buy diesel cars because they were deemed more environmentally friendly.
Diesel drivers now face two possible financial penalties – higher taxes to discourage new sales and charges to drive in certain places levied by councils.
Senior Tories today go public with demands for a major diesel scrappage scheme to encourage people to get rid of their cars before any charges are levied. They argue it is unfair for people to be punished for following government advice that was issued under Tony Blair’s premiership.
Robert Halfon, a former Tory minister, said: “If you’re told to buy an electrical good for health and safety reasons
and then you realise it doesn’t do what it says, you get a refund What’s happening here is drivers are being told not only to take their product back, but that they will be charged because the advice was wrong.”
Charlie Elphicke, a Tory MP and vice-chairman of the Fair Fuel all-party parliamentary group, said: “There should be a properly funded scrappage scheme to take the oldest and dirtiest diesels off the road. It could be paid for with a higher tax on all brand new gas guzzlers – the luxury cars with big engines that have low miles per gallon.” He added: “Given that drivers were encouraged to buy diesel by the last Labour government it would be extraordinary to allow them to be punished with higher taxes without a proper scrappage scheme in place. People would feel it was a betrayal.”
Other Tory MPs are understood to support the calls, which are backed by the Fair Fuel UK Campaign. Any rebellion could come to a head at the Budget, given Philip Hammond, the Chancellor, is considering increasing vehicle excise duty on new diesel cars.