Liberal Democrats’ ‘For A Fair Deal’ Manifesto: What it Means for Drivers

The Liberal Democrats have recently launched their election manifesto, titled ‘For A Fair Deal’, and it has some interesting implications for drivers. In this blog post, we will break down the key policies outlined in the manifesto and discuss how they could potentially impact motorists if the Liberal Democrats were to be elected.

1. EV Charging: The Liberal Democrats have pledged to make it easier and cheaper for drivers to charge their electric vehicles by rolling out more charging points, including residential on-street points and ultra-fast chargers at service stations. They also plan to cut the VAT on public charging to 5% and require all charging points to be accessible with a bank card.

2. Car Insurance and Petrol Prices: The manifesto promises to investigate the “unfair” price of car insurance and petrol, with a focus on lowering costs for motorists. They also plan to double the number of areas covered by Rural Fuel Duty Relief, which currently gives a rebate of 5p per litre to filling stations in remote areas.

3. Tackle Skill Shortage in Motor Trades: The Liberal Democrats aim to address the skills shortage in the motor industry by increasing the take-up of apprenticeships and developing National Colleges as centres of expertise for key sectors like automotive. They also plan to fix the work visa system to address labour shortages post-Brexit.

4. Reinstate the 2030 ICE Cut-Off: The Liberal Democrats promise to reinstate the ban on the sale of petrol and diesel powered cars by 2030, with every new car and small van sold from that year needing to be zero-emission. This is part of their commitment to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2045.

5. Keep Post Office Services for Drivers: The manifesto pledges to keep DVLA services available at Post Office counters so drivers can continue to renew licences, buy road tax, and make applications face-to-face.

6. Banning Chinese Imports: The Liberal Democrats have promised to ban imports from areas of China with egregious abuses, such as Xinjiang, which could impact car makers with links to suppliers in the region.

7. Rejoin the Single Market: The most controversial policy promise is to seek a way for the UK to rejoin the European Single Market, which would allow the free movement of goods and people between EU countries and Britain. This could potentially benefit car makers who have faced additional costs post-Brexit.

Overall, the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto offers a range of policies that aim to support and benefit drivers if they were to be elected. While the likelihood of them taking overall control of the country may be slim, their policies could still have an impact if they were to form a coalition government. It will be interesting to see how these proposals develop in the lead-up to the general election on July 4th.