The Government's recent U-turn on electric cars is not good. Everybody from car makers to consumers is now confused. After three years of strongly pushing EVs, the Govt's surprising shift in policy is solely due to naked, opportunistic electioneering. The cut-off date for the halt of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans has been moved from 2030 to 2035 to appease the right-wing, fossil fuel-supporting backbenchers in the Conservative party. We must not let these siren voices sabotage the significant progress the UK has made in EV and battery technology just because a handful of MPs are worried about their declining majorities. Electric vehicles hold the key to helping make our urban air clean again - for us and for our children.

And the Government needs to do much, much more. That means helping to make electric vehicles affordable for everyone and putting in place a national charging network so that drivers across the UK are confident of life with an Electric Vehicle. I have started the FairCharge campaign to make sure this happens.

Greater uptake of the latest, long-range Electric Vehicles will help us improve air quality, give greater energy security, lower our fuel costs and reduce climate change. Electric cars and vans are the beginning of the process of transitioning from polluting fossil fuels to renewable energy - a once-in-a-generation opportunity to stop burning hydrocarbons.

If we are going to increase EV uptake, then we need to have far-sighted, fair government policies that help make EVs accessible to everyone. And the government needs to stop weaponising the anti-EV narrative as a way to sabotage our mission for clean air, energy security and lower costs. 

Amongst other things, we need the Government to make sure that:

• there are enough EV chargers across the whole country that can be easily accessed at an affordable price
• people who can’t charge at home are not penalised by paying four times as much VAT as those charging at home
• incentives exist not just for buying new electric cars but also in the second-hand market where most people buy their cars.

If you agree, please sign my petition calling on the Government to do more to help make the switch to electric vehicles fairer and more affordable. Signing this petition will help our children and their children. This really is an historic opportunity to improve the air we breathe and the planet we live on.