£35bn already dropped from value of UK diesel cars due to threat of a new tax.
Owners of diesel cars could find themselves out of pocket if the Tories win the general election: as MPs continue to advance plans for a pollution tax campaigners at Fair Fuel UK released figures showing average value losses of up to 40% per diesel car connected to rumoured new tax. Suggested to affect 7 cities & towns across the country, the announcement for the unpopular move has been postponed until September- presumably to delay a backlash until after the general election. The proposals were originally due to be announced in April.
Motorists expressed outrage at the delay, with many voicing opposition on twitter. The blow of a diesel tax strikes many as particularly unkind because of earlier government schemes encouraging diesel ownership- with some now faced with taxes on the same cars originally promoted by the previous Labour administration. With a huge potential backlash from motorists resentful at the prospect of being punished for following government advice, the choice to delay the announcement of a possible tax hike will no doubt be labelled cynical by sceptics.
The government is required by the EU to publish strict new pollutions guidelines, and while a scrappage scheme hasn’t been ruled out, a step-change in legislating caused by the election has at the very least dampened efforts to finalise a decisive, fair emission-cutting plan. With the Labour Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, pushing for his own emissions controls in the capital and the EU frustrated with Britain’s humiliating exceeding of yearly pollution limits within days of 2016 passing, the government is under more pressure than ever to produce a coherent emissions strategy that enforces effective curbs without persecuting drivers. Meanwhile, the AA has challenged the need for new charges, citing poorly managed traffic calming measures, insufficient infrastructure and an overdependence by councils on slowing traffic in certain areas for increased pollution.