This is how Labour’s general election victory will affect leaders

• From fuel tax hikes to fixing millions of potholes and accelerating the petrol ban
• Our guide to how a Labour government will affect motorists and their money

We have a new Labour government and motorists want to know what this means for the future of car ownership and driving costs.

What can motorists who take to the roads under Keir Starmer’s leadership expect once calm returns?

We’ve rounded up all the ways a Labour government will impact motorists, from reimposing the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030 to increasing fuel duty.

> What Labour’s election win means for your money

Will fuel prices rise under Labour?

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to completely rule out a rise in fuel duty.

The Labour leader has spent 14 years in prison and is reluctant to say whether he will continue this 15-year trend.

Britons face some of the highest fuel taxes in Europe – with VAT added at 20 per cent on top of the full price including excise duty. It has been frozen at 59.95p per litre since 2011.

An additional ‘temporary’ 5p cut in fuel duty, first introduced in March 2022 by then Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in an attempt to offset rising pump prices following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, will also apply until March 2025.

During the Sky News leaders’ debate, Starmer avoided a direct answer to the question of whether a Labour government would increase fuel duties.

When he was confronted for the second time about the fuel tax, he referred to his track record in that area.

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Starmer said he had supported a freeze on fuel duty “every time it was raised” but that “fuel duty should be set in each budget”.

In the run-up to the election, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Louise Hague told Auto Express: ‘On fuel duty, we want lower taxes for working people, which is why we have always campaigned in this parliament against fuel duty increases.

‘Our plans do not state that we need to raise additional funds in addition to the measures that have already been announced.’

Hague also said Labour would explore options to address the fundamentally unfair situation where the fall in the crude oil price is not being passed on as savings to motorists.

Under the outgoing Conservative government’s plans, the 5p fuel duty will expire in March 2025 and will be increased by inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (RPI) from April 2025 and every year thereafter.

This was also the case in the previous decade, but the freezes were ratified by the various finance ministers.

According to the Treasury, a driver saves around £50 a year with the reduced fuel duty. Since the introduction of the duty, the total saving is around £250.

When should you switch to an electric car?

Labour has always made it clear that it will move the phase-out date for new petrol and diesel cars to 2030. It says this will give manufacturers more certainty, after the Conservatives pushed the date back to 2035.

Motorists fear that the switch to electric will be unaffordable.

New electric cars are typically a lot more expensive than new petrol or diesel cars. According to Auto Trader, the switch is being slowed by a lack of cheap second-hand electric cars.

However, Labour told Auto Express: ‘Electric cars are already cheaper to run and will soon be cheaper to make than petrol cars. More delays mean higher costs for drivers, billions in lost investment and more jobs moving overseas.’

Cheaper new EVs are coming to market, with the bargain Dacia Spring and Citroën e-C3 both launching this year, the Spring starting at just £14,995 and the e-C3 from £21,990.

And the AA Used Car Index recently found that average prices of the most popular used electric and hybrid vehicles in the UK fell by almost a fifth (19 per cent) in the three months to June compared to the same period last year.

However, the Labour Party has not offered any direct incentives to help people budget for an electric car. Instead, it leaves the role to market forces and offers the charging point improvements as an incentive.

Is the transition to electric transport supported by cheaper charging?

The Labour Party has promised to expand the charging network with a host of improvements.

The party will remove barriers to the rollout of charging points, such as height restrictions and data access restrictions. The £950m Rapid Charging Fund will also be released.

Whether Labour will cut VAT on public charging points from 20 per cent to 5 per cent if the party gets into 10 Downing Street – which would bring VAT levels in line with home charging points and end this charging point inequality – remains to be seen, but it would deliver greater savings for EV drivers.

Potholes in the Road: Are the Roads Being Repaired?

In January, This is Money reported that damage to vehicles caused by potholes in Britain would total a staggering £474 million by 2023.

According to Labour figures, the average repair cost is £250.

To fix this, Labour says it will “maintain and renew our road network” by fixing an extra million potholes in England every year of the next parliament. And it has promised to end the “band-aid approach” to repairs.

Labour plans to invest an additional £320 million over the next five years, funded by delaying the planned A27 Arundel bypass, adding to the £8.3 billion the Tories have already promised.

Will ULEZ expand, requiring more drivers to pay?

It looks like Labour will not be expanding the low or ultra-low emission zones. ULEZ costs £12.50 per day and covers all London boroughs.

Neither was mentioned in Labour’s manifesto and no plans were announced during the campaign.

Congestion charges were also not mentioned, but London’s Labour mayor, Sadiq Khan, is set to introduce a £15 congestion charge for electric cars from December 25, 2025.

Will Labour introduce a blanket speed limit of 20mph, as in Wales?

In September 2023, Wales became the first country in the UK and one of the first countries in the world to introduce a default speed limit of 20 mph.

All roads with a restriction, usually residential roads or roads in built-up areas with many people, now have a general speed limit of 32 km/h.

There are still a few roads where you are allowed to drive at a speed of 48 km/h, but these are determined individually.

With Labour’s landslide victory confirmed and Sir Keir Starmer’s party having swept aside the Tories in Wales, many motorists may be wary of introducing the 20mph speed limit across the border into England.

But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

The Labour Party made no statements on speed limits in its manifesto, but when asked directly by Auto Express, Labour MP Louise Hague said: ‘It should be up to local communities to decide the speed limit on their roads, not politicians in Westminster.

’20mph limits are welcome in certain areas, such as around schools – but those decisions need to be made locally. That’s why a Labour government won’t introduce blanket 20mph zones.’

Car Insurance – Is It Finally Becoming Affordable Again?

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Long-term motorists are now paying a whopping £635 for their insurance, a record high and up from £627 in the final three months of 2023, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said.

The Labour Party has said it will “further support motorists by tackling the skyrocketing costs of car insurance”, but did not elaborate on the issue in its manifesto.

At the Labour Party conference last year, Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said the Financial Conduct Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority would be ordered to launch a formal investigation into rising car insurance prices.

Haigh confirmed that the 14-day free cancellation period on car insurance would be extended and that an investigation would be carried out into unfair postcode rates.

Labour claims the plan to fix potholes will save motorists “hundreds of pounds in repair costs and insurance premiums”.