Labor has pledged to reduce the cost of car insurance for millions of drivers, as well as clean up the UK’s pothole backlog and improve infrastructure development.
In its latest manifesto, Labor pledged to be a pro-driver party aiming to make major progress on several factors it says the Conservatives have failed to address during their time in power.
Keir Starmer’s party says it will tackle the high costs of car insurance by calling on regulators to crack down on the causes of skyrocketing costs.
For the average driver, the cost of motor insurance is around £900, with younger road users expected to spend more than £3,000 to insure themselves on the roads, which has long been a point of contention for drivers.
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Around one million vehicle owners have been forced to cancel their car insurance due to high costs
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On average, costs have risen by more than £200 per person in just two years, driven by pothole damage, soaring inflation and rising car theft rates, prompting Labor to tackle the problem.
Estimates suggest that a million people will be forced to cancel their car insurance by 2022 due to the cost of living crisis.
Labor is now promising to approach the Competition and Markets Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority to investigate postcode pricing practices and whether they target ethnic minorities and people on lower incomes.
This will act as one of three key commitments in Labour’s Plan for Drivers, which will compete with the Tories’ own manifesto, which aims to crack down on anti-motoring schemes including the 20mph speed limit, London’s Ulez expansion and over-zealous councils fining motorists.
Commenting on Labour’s announcement, Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh highlighted the importance of vehicles to millions of drivers across the country, but said the Conservative government had failed.
She added: “The Tories have left Britain’s roads infested with potholes and settled as car insurance costs spiraled out of control.
“Work is the only real side on the drivers’ side. Our plan will fix up to a million more potholes every year, save drivers hundreds of pounds in lower repair costs and tackle the skyrocketing costs of car insurance.”
Haigh promised Labor would make roads safer and remove barriers that “burden our planning system”, speed up improvements to vital infrastructure and reduce costs for taxpayers.
Labor has also targeted pothole-ridden streets across the UK, with the political party claiming there are 100 times more potholes than there are craters on the surface of the moon.
To fund a pledge to fix up to one million more potholes every year, Labor is delaying the planned A27 bypass, which was estimated to cost at least £320m.
This would be on top of the £8.3 billion of funding over the next 11 years already added to the Pothole Fund by the previous Conservative government.
In its analysis of the costs of the undertaking, Labor says investment in local road maintenance would deliver benefits of around £6.50 for every pound spent, compared to less than £2 from the A27 bypass.
The third key aim of the Driver Plan is to break down the barriers to planning by “ending the culture of waste and inefficiency that is destroying the planning system and costing taxpayers money”.
Responding to Labour’s Plan for Drivers, Mariusz Zabrocki, UK managing director at FREENOW UK, said: “In a recent survey, 95 per cent said road conditions had worsened, so on behalf of our taxi drivers we welcome Labour’s new policy to improve. conditions on the road, which will ultimately translate into lower vehicle repair costs and greater safety for all road users.
“This is particularly important to ensure drivers can keep more of the money they earn.”
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Labor has pledged to fix a million more potholes every year
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Similarly, Tony Campbell, chief executive of the Motorcycle Industry Association, said: “The MCIA welcomes Labour’s focus on improving Britain’s roads for the safety of all users, particularly motorcyclists who face greater risks from potholes.
“We support the reduction of insurance costs and the removal of barriers to planning road upgrades, which benefits the light motor vehicle sector.”
Labor is expected to release the rest of its manifesto in the coming days ahead of the July 4 general election.