What does Labor’s election win mean for drivers and the cost of motoring?

• From increasing fuel tax to fixing millions of potholes and speeding up the petrol ban
• Our guide to how a Labor government will affect motorists and their money

We have a new Labor government – and with it, motorists will want to know what this means for the future of car ownership and the cost of driving.

What should motorists who hit the road under a Keir Starmer-led government expect when the dust settles?

We’ve rounded up all the ways a Labor government will affect drivers, from renewing the ban on new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to increasing fuel tax.

> What Labor’s election victory means for your money

Will fuel prices rise under Labour?

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

After 14 consecutive years, the Labor leader remained frozen, reluctant to say he would continue the decade-and-a-half trend.

Britons face one of the highest taxes on fuel in all of Europe – with VAT of 20 per cent also charged to the full price including duty. Since 2011, it has been frozen at 59.95 p/l.

An additional “temporary” fuel tax cut of 5 percentage points, first introduced in March 2022 by the then chancellor Rishi Sunak in an attempt to neutralize escalating pump prices triggered by the outbreak of war in Ukraine, also applies until March 2025.

During the Sky News leader’s debate, Starmer avoided directly answering whether the Labor government would increase fuel tax.

When pushed a second time on the fuel tax, he went back on his record on the matter.

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Starmer said he supported a freeze “whenever it comes up” but that “fuel tax will have to be decided budget by budget”.

Ahead of the election, Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Hague told Auto Express: “When it comes to fuel tax – we want lower taxes for working people and that’s why we’ve always campaigned against fuel tax increases in this parliament.

“Nothing in our plans requires us to raise additional money beyond the measures already announced.”

Hague also said Labor would explore options to address how fundamentally unfair it is that falls in oil prices are not passed on as savings to drivers.

Under plans by the outgoing Conservative government, the 5p fuel tax is due to end in March 2025 and then increase by Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation from April 2025 and every year thereafter.

This was the case in the previous decade, but the freeze was confirmed by various Chancellors of the Exchequer.

A driver will save around £50 a year thanks to the cut in fuel tax – with total savings of around £250 since it was first introduced, according to the Treasury.

When will you need to switch to EV?

Labor has always been clear that it would restore the phase-out date for new petrol and diesel cars to 2030, which it says will help bring certainty to manufacturers after the Tories pushed it back to 2035.

Motorists fear that the switch to electric will be cost-prohibitive.

New EVs tend to be slightly more expensive than new gasoline and diesel cars, and Auto Trader recently reported that a shortage of cheap used EVs is slowing the transition.

But Labor told Auto Express: “Electric cars are already cheaper to run and will soon be cheaper than petrol cars. More delays mean higher costs for drivers, billions in lost investment and more jobs sent overseas.”

Cheaper new electric cars are entering the market, with the affordable Dacia Spring and Citroen e-C3 being launched this year. The Spring will cost from just £14,995 and the e-C3 from £21,990.

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

However, Labor offered no direct incentives to help people budget for EVs, instead leaving the role to market forces and offering improvements to charging points as an incentive.

Will the EV switch be supported by cheaper charging?

Labour’s promised to expand the charging network with a number of rollout improvements.

The party will remove obstacles to the introduction of charging points, such as height restrictions and restrictions on data access. A £950m fast charging fund will also be released.

Whether Labor will cut VAT on public charges from 20 to 5 per cent if the party gets to 10 Downing Street – which would bring VAT in line with domestic charging and remove this disparity in charging – remains to be seen, but it would bring more savings. for EV drivers.

Potholes: will the roads be repaired?

In January, This is Money reported that vehicle damage caused by Britain’s potholed roads cost a staggering £474,000,000 in 2023.

The reduction in staff means the average repair fee is £250.

To tackle this, Labor says it will “maintain and renew our road network” by fixing an extra million potholes across England every year in the next parliament. And an end to the “plaster sticking approach” to repairs is promised.

Labor plans to inject an extra £320m over five years – funded by delaying the planned A27 Arundel bypass – on top of the £8.3bn already promised by the Tories.

Will ULEZ be expanded to pay more drivers?

Labor does not appear to be expanding 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 election process.

The congestion charge was also not mentioned, but Mayor of London Sadiq Khan will make electric cars pay a £15 congestion charge from 25 December 2025.

Will Labor introduce a nationwide 20mph speed limit as seen in Wales?

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

All limited-traffic roads – usually roads in residential areas or roads in built-up areas where there are a lot of people – now have a 20mph across-the-board speed limit.

A small number of 30 mph roads remain, but these have been decided on a case-by-case basis.

With Labour’s landslide now confirmed and Sir Keir Starmer’s party annihilating the Tories in Wales, many motorists may fear that Labor will bring the 20mph control across the border to England.

But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Labor did not comment on speed limits in its manifesto, but when asked directly by Auto Express, Labor MP Louise Hague said: “Local communities should decide speed limits on local roads, not politicians in Westminster.

“20mph limits are welcome in certain areas, such as around schools – but these decisions should be made locally. This is why the Labor government will not introduce blanket 20mph zones.

Car insurance – finally available again?

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Long-suffering motorists are now paying an eye-watering £635 for cover – a record high and up from £627 in the final three months of 2023, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said.

Labor said it would “further support drivers by tackling the rising cost of car insurance”, but did not go into further detail in its manifesto.

At last year’s Labor conference, Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said the Financial Conduct Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority would be tasked with launching a formal investigation into skyrocketing car insurance prices.

Haigh confirmed that the 14-day free cancellation period for car insurance will be extended and unfair postcode fixing will be investigated.

Labour’s also said the pothole repair plan would save drivers “hundreds of pounds in lower repair bills and insurance premiums”.