Drivers count cost of Labour’s diesel folly

IT’S less than 20 years since the Labour government – backed by the vociferous green lobby and most of the scientific community – urged motorists to abandon their nasty, carbon-emitting, petrol-engine cars and convert to diesel.

With hindsight, looking at the names of the politicians who pushed this revolution – John Prescott, Neil Kinnock (then EU Transport Commissioner), Gordon Brown – we should have known it would end in tears. But at the time we were assured that driving a diesel was good for the planet and buying one was doing a public service.

With the help of generous tax incentives, the number of diesel vehicles on our roads rocketed from just over 6 per cent of the total in 1990 to around 40 per cent. But how dramatically things have changed. In what seems like no time, diesel drivers have gone from being publicspirited citizens to demons.

They are now told their cars are a menace, spewing out nitrous oxides and toxic particles and contributing to the deaths of thousands of people every year. One pressure group describes the rise of diesel as ‘the biggest health catastrophe since the Black Death’.

And to complete their misery, there are plans to penalise diesel motorists by charging them up to £20 a day to drive in 35 towns and cities across England.

They have a perfect right to be furious. Through no fault of their own they are being fleeced and of course the poorest, who don’t have the option of changing to a car with lower emissions, will be hardest hit.

Yes, pollution must be tackled, but shouldn’t drivers who bought their diesel cars in good faith at least be allowed time to adjust, rather than being hammered with huge charges virtually overnight? And don’t they deserve an official apology for having been so grossly misled?