Diesel drivers face ‘green’ tax rise because of Labour blunder

DRIVERS of diesel cars could face major tax rises to help tackle air pollution, it emerged yesterday.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said Gordon Brown had made a mistake when as Labour Chancellor he slashed tax on diesel in 2001 to encourage motorists to switch from petrol cars.

The aim was to reduce the risk of climate change because diesels produce much lower carbon dioxide emissions than petrol cars.

But Mr McLoughlin said the decision had caused a dramatic rise in the number of diesels, which emit toxic nitrogen oxide. ‘We have got to look at that,’ he added. ‘It is something the Chancellor will have to look at in due course.’

The Government is facing legal action from both the European Commission and environmental campaigners over its failure to meet EU targets on air quality.

It is now known that diesel fumes create a variety of longterm problems for the heart and lungs, particularly in children.

But any move to hike taxes on motorists who were encouraged to buy diesel cars to help protect the environment is likely to spark an angry backlash.

Luke Bosdet, of the AA, said new taxes would be unfair. He also questioned the need for a tax assault on diesel drivers, pointing to figures showing that sales of the cars have fallen behind those of petrol models. Mr Bosdet said: ‘Once again, ministers seem to be lining up the private car user in their sights and threatening even more taxes. The fact that in this case they are taking aim at people who were trying to do the right thing by the environment will leave people feeling pretty hard done by.

‘We are seeing a rewriting of history here. Gordon Brown used diesel as a quick fix when he accepted there was a need to radically reduce carbon emissions.

‘Now ministers are reaching for a tax solution again in response to hysteria about pollution and diesels. Diesel drivers feel hunted – they are blamed for pollution, some councils are imposing swingeing parking charges on them, and now they face being hammered again on tax.’

Mr Brown’s 2001 ‘dash for diesel’ sparked a major change in British motoring habits.

He slashed duty on diesel and reduced company car taxes on diesels. In response, the number of diesel cars on Britain’s roads more than doubled from 3.45million to 8.2million.

Asked if Mr Brown had made a mistake, Mr McLoughlin told the London Evening Standard: ‘Yes. In fairness, they thought they were doing the right thing – the consequences of what they did was to bring about a reduction in carbon.’ He added: ‘It’s something that we’ve got to address.’

A source close to Mr McLoughlin insisted that he was not lobbying for an increase in diesel taxes, adding: ‘Decisions on taxes are a matter for the Chancellor.’

But the source also played down the prospects of a Governmentbacked diesel scrappage scheme to help owners of ageing diesels switch to cleaner models, saying: ‘Transferring large amounts of money to people who are already relatively well off to help them buy a new car would be pretty regressive.’

In April, the cross-party Commons environment committee called on George Osborne to introduce a scrappage scheme targeted at the owners of ageing diesels in his next Budget.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has also called for a scrappage scheme, as did his predecessor Boris Johnson.

Meanwhile, Mr McLoughlin indicated that a long-awaited decision on whether to build a new runway at Heathrow Airport could be delayed again.

He said the timetable for a decision by the summer – the latest deadline set by ministers – was now ‘very tight’.

Asked about a likely decision date, he said: ‘I’m very keen that we get an airport decision this year.’

‘Feeling pretty hard done by’