Britons are bracing for a number of major legislative changes in the coming years, following Labour’s landslide victory in this week’s general election.
Keir Starmer dominated the vote, winning 412 seats in a stunning election campaign that saw the Conservatives lose 250 seats and Rishi Sunak ousted as prime minister.
With Labour set to take control of parliament in the coming days, motorists are expecting the party to improve their lives, cut costs and take action on regulations that make it harder to get behind the wheel.
Following the landslide election victory, GB News has compiled an overview of the changes to road traffic legislation and the promises that could be realised in the near future under a Labour government.
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Labour said it would consider fuel duty on a budget-by-budget basis
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Fuel excise duty
Millions of motorists have faced high petrol and diesel costs over the past two years, despite the 5p-per-litre fuel duty cut extended by the Conservative government in successive spring budgets.
Keir Starmer spoke to GB News about the future of fuel duty relief and what Labour would do to ease the pressure at the pumps for motorists. He told Political Editor Christopher Hope: “On fuel duty, we are obviously very sensitive to it because we know how big the impact is.
“Every year we have supported the position to keep that frozen. It is a matter of budget to budget, but I would ask anyone who is concerned about this to check our record.
“We have always said that we should freeze fuel duty. That is our long history and we are doing it with a purpose.”
Labour wants to drastically cut car insurance costs for motorists in need
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Car insurance
The cost of car insurance has also become a problem for millions of Britons since the pandemic, with some drivers paying an average of as much as £3,000, while others are struggling to get cheap quotes despite being a reliable driver.
Louise Haigh, who is expected to become transport secretary once Keir Starmer announces his cabinet, spoke of the need for Labour to tackle high prices as around a million people have cancelled their insurance policies because the cost has become unaffordable.
This means that the Competition and Markets Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority must investigate unfair practices by insurers, such as a postcode lottery that unfairly disadvantages ethnic minorities and people on low incomes.
Labour has pledged to fix an extra million potholes every year FATHERPits
The new majority party has pledged to fix a million more potholes each year to tackle the expensive repair costs. It is estimated that there are now 100 times more potholes on roads than craters on the moon.
Louise Haigh has previously said: “The Conservatives have left Britain’s roads riddled with potholes and watched car insurance costs spiral out of control.”
According to Labour, investing in local road maintenance would deliver around £6.50 in benefits for every pound spent, compared with less than £2 for the A27 bypass.
Labour will reintroduce 2030 deadline for banning sales of new petrol and diesel cars
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Car ban
Keir Starmer and Labour have proactively pushed to retain the original 2030 date for the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans, despite Rishi Sunak having already moved the deadline back to September last year with sweeping changes to net zero regulations.
In its ‘Change’ manifesto, Labour said it would “provide certainty for manufacturers by reinstating the 2030 phase-out date for new combustion engine cars”.
During Rishi Sunak’s original announcement, Labour said it was reckless to push through such a major change, impacting drivers and the industry, with such little notice.
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Labour said it would introduce so-called ‘EV battery passports’
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Electric cars
Like most other political parties, Labour pledged to ensure the rapid rollout of new public charging points for electric vehicles.
According to data from Zapmap, there are 64,775 public charging stations in the UK across 33,829 different locations, with over 2,000 installed by June 2024. There is still hope that the UK will install 300,000 chargers by the end of the decade.
People looking to buy a second-hand electric car are also being encouraged by a promise to “standardise the information provided on the condition of batteries” through so-called EV battery passports, which are due to become mandatory in the European Union by 2027.