Stop making drivers pay for emissions, urges senior Tory

A SENIOR Conservative MP has called on Boris Johnson to find a “sustainable solution” to lowering fuel emissions rather than one “balanced on the backs of hardworking motorists”.

Robert Halfon urged the Government to “seriously consider” alternatives to taxing drivers, such as fuel catalysts, to tackle climate change.

He said: “Everywhere you look, drivers are hit by taxes. We need a sustainable solution to lower fuel emissions, but one that is not balanced on the backs of hardworking motorists.”

Fuel catalysts modify petrol and diesel to improve combustion and have been shown to reduce fuel consumption by more than 50 per cent.

“Not only do they work to reduce fuel consumption and help us to reach our climate change targets, they are a viable, cost-saving option for motorists and the Treasury,” Mr Halfon said.

A survey of more than 500,000 drivers for Fairfueluk found that 19 in 20 motorists supported the idea of legislation to allow oil companies to add fuel catalysts to petrol and diesel.

It also found 60 per cent of drivers rated the Government’s Clean Air Strategy as ineffective, with four in five describing clean air zones such as London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) as a “deceitful” way of obtaining cash.

Transport for London has made more than £40million from Ulez since its introduction in April. Launched by Sadiq Khan, the £12.50 charge will expand to a huge area bounded by the North and South Circular roads in October 2021. Cities such as Manchester and Birmingham are drawing up similar plans.

Shaun Bailey, the Conservative London mayoral candidate, described Ulez as a “cash grab” to cover for Mr Khan’s “awful mismanagement” of the Transport for London budget.

Fairfuel UK’S polling also found that 85 per cent of drivers back “HS2 levels of spending” on new roads across the UK. The Prime Minister has earmarked £78billion to transform road and rail transport in the north of England.