by Bill Heaney
Scottish Liberal Democrats have today criticised the Chancellor’s decision to introduce a new 3p-a-mile charge for electric cars from 2028 and warned that rural parts of Scotland could be the worst hit.
Not worse, however, than West Dunbartonshire Council whose SNP administration at the time bought a fleet of electric vehicles which they left to rust outside their Clydebank headquarters.
And which the Labour administration which succeeded them decided the vehicles were too embarrassing to talk about and which may yet be circling the earth for all we know – or the council spin doctors are prepared to reveal to the public.
The additional electric vehicle excise duty (VED) which Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer believe will help to fill the black hole in the economy – now is that real or was it just another Labour lie – will be payable with existing VED or road tax at 3p a mile for fully electric cars or 1.5p for plug-in hybrids. The new EV pay-per-mile charge is expected to raise £1.1bn in 2028-29, rising to £1.9bn in 2030-31.
West Dunbartonshire Council’s fleet of electric cars lined up and confined to the car park outside their Clydebank offices.
This is estimated to cost drivers around £250 on average, however this is likely to be considerably higher in rural areas where there are typically fewer public transport options and journeys are longer.
The OBR have also forecast that the pay-per-mile charge and counterbalancing measures would reduce EV sales.
It was the Liberal Democrats that introduced the Rural Fuel Duty Relief, and more recently called for its expansion to 20 more areas, saving drivers 5p a litre at the pump and helping motorists in rural areas who face higher fuel costs.
Transport spokesperson Jamie Greene said: “It beggars belief that in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and in the face of air pollution and rising respiratory diseases, the government is looking to hit people with an electric car tax.
“People who chose to buy an EV [such as West Dunbartonshire Council] on the promise that it would be affordable will feel blindsided, and this would be yet another hit to Britain’s electric vehicle industry, which is already facing fierce competition from China.
“Both Scottish and UK Ministers should be making it easier to have an electric car by rolling out more charging infrastructure across the country – not penalising drivers with this unfair and short-sighted measure.”
David Green, who will be a candidate for the LIbDems at the local government elections in May, said: “This policy will hit rural areas like the Highlands harder than anywhere else due to the lack of public transport options and the large distances that journeys can involve.
“We know the extra costs that come with living in rural and remote areas. It’s why Liberal Democrats introduced the Rural Fuel Duty Relief, and more recently called for its expansion to 20 more areas, saving drivers 5p a litre at the pump and helping motorists who face higher fuel costs.
“At the very least, it would make sense for a similar allowance to be made for EV drivers in rural and remote areas. It’s not fair to ignore the burden this will place on key workers like carers and all the small businesses that depend on long-distance travel. The sparser charging network is already a disincentive to people switching.
“This must not be yet another city-centric policy that hits those in rural areas with the bill.”
- The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) has strongly opposed this tax, saying that “at such a pivotal moment in the UK’s EV transition, this would be entirely the wrong measure at the wrong time. Introducing such a complex, costly regime that targets the very vehicles manufacturers are challenged to sell would be a strategic mistake.”