Only a third of voters back 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars

Only a third of voters back 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel car sales as public backing for net-zero action slumps in the face of cost-of-living crisis

Public support for green measures including a 2030 ban on new fossil fuel car sales is waning in the face of increasing economic hardship, a new poll reveals today.

Backing for the prohibition of petrol and diesel vehicles in just seven years time has fallen to just 36 per cent, down from 51 per cent two years ago. 

Backing for the ban – which will allow hybrid sales to continue until 2035 – is acute among Tory voters, with support falling from 41 to 19 per cent. 

Support has also fallen for other measures including taxes on gas bills, flying and fuel as families struggle with high inflation and a stagnant economy, according to the YouGov poll in the Times.

Overall almost a third (32 per cent) of voters believe the drive for Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050 will have a negative impact on the economy, up from 22 per cent.

Backing for the prohibition of petrol and diesel vehicles in just seven years time has fallen to just 36 per cent, down from 51 per cent two years ago.

Backing for the ban – which will allow hybrid sales to continue until 2035 – is acute among Tory voters, with support falling from 41 to 19 per cent.

Former environment secretary George Eustice has compared the proposed bans on new oil boilers to the Ulez car ban in London.

It comes amid a row between ministers over electric cars ahead of the ban.

Starting next year, at least 22 per cent of vehicles made in the UK will have to be electric, with manufacturers facing fines of up to £15,000 per vehicle if they miss the quota.

Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary, is said to be lobbying for this rule to be softened amid a fall in sales triggered by the poor state of the economy.

But other ministers are resisting the push, saying that the change will help put the UK at the forefront of the new technology. 

Meanwhile former environment secretary George Eustice has compared the proposed bans on new oil boilers to the Ulez car ban in London.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the Tory MP said there are 1.7 million rural homes that will be affected by the new oil boiler ban, referencing plans to ban new boilers and introduce ‘air-source heat-pumps’ from 2026.

Mr Eustice said this costs four times more than a new boiler and said his solution is to expand the supply of renewable liquid fuels.

He added: ‘For just a couple of hundred pounds, an existing kerosene boiler can be converted to run on hydrotreated vegetable oil made from waste cooking oil or vegetable waste.

‘Facilitating that switch would reduce carbon emissions by 88 per cent far faster than the current approach could and at a fraction of the cost.’

Mr Eustice said the Government needs to create different approaches to develop the delivery of net zero, rather than ‘lock’ into technologies now.

‘To pick winners today is to shut down all the other innovation taking place and the Prime Minister is right to push back,’ he said.

‘Rural communities are about to have their own version of London’s ultra-low emission zone dumped on them.’

The Telegraph reported that more than a dozen Tory MPs support Mr Eustice’s amendment to the energy Bill and more than 30 MPs have written to Rishi Sunak to raise the issue.

In late July, comments from Downing Street said the Government was committed to policies such as phasing out gas boilers and ending the sale of petrol-powered cars.

Environment Minister Therese Coffey said on Sunday that abandoning green policies could cost the Conservatives the next general election.

Ms Coffey said the party must show it cares about the environment in order to win, but cautioned it must not be in a way that ‘burdens’ the public.

There have been indications the Government will water down the implementation of some net-zero policies to lessen the impact during a cost-of-living crisis.

MPs on the right of the Tory party have been urging the Prime Minister to go further.

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