The United Kingdom’s Labour Party has issued two related press releases recently. According to the first one from September 21st:
Speaking on the Today programme, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell announced that Labour will introduce 2.5 million interest free loans for the purchase of electric cars.
The loans of up to £33,000 will allow low to income households, those living in rural areas and independent contractors and SMEs middle to save on new electric cars. The government will cover the £1,500 cost of interest on a loan, with individuals saving up to £5,000 over time.
The scheme will ensure that access to the Electric Car Revolution is broadened beyond elites, as part of Labour’s vision of clean transport for everyone.
The interest-free loans will require participation in a mass trial of Vehicle-2-Grid technology which will allow the UK to transition to renewable energy.
This new technology will allow electric cars to store excess energy from the national grid, smoothing energy supply from renewable sources.
The scheme will boost the British automobile industry and support the UK’s transition away from petrol and diesel cars.
Then two days later the second one announced that:
In order to jumpstart the transition to electric cars and tackle the climate emergency Labour will invest £3.6 billion into a mammoth expansion of the UK’s electric vehicle (EV) charging networks.
Labour’s rapid roll out of charging stations will eliminate concerns over driving range and lack of electric car charging infrastructure by providing enough electric charge points for 21.5 million electric cars – 65% of the UK’s fleet – by 2030. This would double the number of electric cars that the Conservatives are planning for by 2030.
The networks will be made up of ‘en-route’ Ultra-Fast charge stations along motorways, and a mixture of ‘about town’ Rapid and Ultra-Fast charge stations in more urban environments.
Electricity will be generated from renewable sources and distributed by Labour’s publicly owned grid and newly created National and Regional Energy Agencies. These bodies will also oversee the roll out of the EV charging networks and create up to 3,000 new jobs for electricians and network engineers.
These plans will create the infrastructure necessary to transition the UK away from fossil fuel driven cars to low-carbon electric cars – tackling climate change and boosting the UK’s automobile industry.
On the expansion of the UK’s EV charging networks charging Shadow Secretary for BEIS, Rebecca Long Bailey said:
“The Tories have sat on their hands as air pollution poisons our children and the climate emergency intensifies. Their inaction on electric charging infrastructure has held back the transition to cleaner vehicles and put our industry behind the curve.
“Labour is ready to jumpstart an Electric Car Revolution. We will roll out electric vehicle charging infrastructure to every city, town and village, and along our motorways.
“Under Labour, nobody buying an electric car needs to worry about running out of fuel.”
All of which is of course sweet music to our ears. Now all we need is for the Labour Party to win the forthcoming election! Failing that presumably a coalition with the Lib Dems and/or the Green Party would also approve of similar plans? Here’s our local Lib Dem candidate, Danny Chambers, inspecting the AC V2G charging post currently installed in our North Cornwall car park:
I wonder who the local Labour candidate is?
