Kemi Badenoch has announced that the Conservative Party would abolish the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel car sales if it wins the next general election, setting up a sharp policy contrast with the Labour Government.
The Conservative leader said she would also scrap Downing Street’s electric vehicle quotas, describing them as an “economic act of self-harm”.
Writing in The Telegraph, she argued that Labour’s current approach risks weakening British competitiveness and strengthening China’s hold over global supply chains.
Ms Badenoch said the party would remove the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, the policy mechanism designed to enforce the ban. Under existing law, manufacturers must meet escalating electric vehicle sales quotas until they reach 100 per cent, with hybrids to be phased out from 2035.
In her article, Ms Badenoch wrote: “The reality is that the EU’s change of heart on EVs will leave Labour even more isolated, and by pressing ahead alone, we are placing our domestic industry at a disadvantage while giving others the opportunity to dominate global supply chains.
“The only winners in this economic self-harm are China, who have happily profited from our decision to accelerate demand for electric vehicles without first securing our own battery and mineral supply chains.”
She argued that scrapping the mandate would save public money currently being spent on subsidies and tax incentives aimed at accelerating EV adoption. “We will bring the UK back into line with other global markets and give businesses the freedom to respond to real consumer demand,” she wrote. “The transition to cleaner transport will continue, but it must be driven by affordability, practicality and technological progress.”
Her comments follow a meeting with Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who has pushed Brussels to reconsider its own petrol and diesel phase out. The EU is expected to announce a shift from a 100 per cent cut in emissions to 90 per cent, allowing continued sales of conventional vehicles.
The move creates a clear dividing line between the Conservatives and the Labour Government, which says the net zero transition remains essential for long term economic growth. Labour reinstated the 2030 deadline after winning power, arguing that delays under Rishi Sunak had created uncertainty for the automotive sector.
Industry figures have raised concerns privately about slowing consumer demand for electric vehicles. Ministers recently reinstated grants for battery powered models after previously ending them in 2022.
Ms Badenoch said that as business secretary she had seen early warnings from manufacturers about the pace of the transition, including worries about charging infrastructure and investment risks. “This was a flashing red warning light for the economy,” she wrote, citing examples of paused or at risk investments since the policy changes.
Reform UK has also said it would scrap the ban, with deputy leader Richard Tice arguing that doing so is the “only way to save the UK automotive industry”.
Drivers may now face a clear policy choice at the next general election, which must take place before the petrol and diesel ban comes into force.
A Labour spokesperson said: “We remain committed to phasing out all new non zero emission car and van sales by 2035. More drivers than ever are choosing electric, and November saw another month of increased sales with EVs accounting for one in four cars sold.”
READ KEMI BADENOCH’S ARTICLE AS IT APPEARED IN THE TELEGRAPH:
It’s time to scrap the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. This little-known law bans future sales of petrol and diesel cars and is a well-meaning but ultimately destructive piece of legislation.
Shortly after becoming Business Secretary in 2023, I held meetings with many of the major car manufacturers in Britain. In public, they welcomed the drive to make vehicles electric (no one wanted to look like they were not on the green bandwagon). In private, however, they were very downbeat about demand for EVs, scathing about the pace of supporting infrastructure such as charging points, and very, very worried about their financial futures.
This was a flashing red warning light for the economy, and I made sure it was known across government. I didn’t believe the ZEV mandate was working, and I fought to scrap it. In doing so, I convinced then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to at the very least push back the ban on petrol and diesel cars to 2035 from 2030.
In response, Labour attacked us for “selling out the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century” and after entering government they shifted the deadline back to 2030. You only need to look at what’s happened since to see the sheer stupidity of their response.
As Business Secretary I oversaw a £100m investment in Stellantis’s car plant in Ellesmere Port. In February this year, under Labour, Stellantis confirmed the closing of their Luton factory, putting 1,100 jobs at risk. In September 2023, I was in Oxfordshire to welcome BMW’s £600m investment into its Oxford Mini plant. This year, under Labour, BMW announced that investment had been paused, citing “uncertainty”.
I could go on, but you get the picture. Under the Conservatives, the direction was clear: decarbonise, but do so in a way that keeps Britain competitive. That meant leaning into investment, listening to manufacturers, and being willing to adjust targets when the market and infrastructure were not keeping up.
What we are seeing now is the opposite direction, Labour clinging to rigid mandates and political deadlines, even as the EU signals it will drop the full ban on petrol and diesel cars.
On Friday, I met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose common sense approach to net zero is having a big influence on the EU. Giorgia said her starting position is that any push to tackle carbon emissions must not degrade Italy’s economy. This is precisely the approach that I am adopting, but which Labour’s ideological zeal won’t countenance.
The reality is that the EU’s change of heart on EVs will leave Labour even more isolated, and by pressing ahead alone, we are placing our domestic industry at a disadvantage while giving others the opportunity to dominate global supply chains.
The only winners in this economic self-harm are China, who have happily profited from our decision to accelerate demand for electric vehicles, without first securing our own battery and mineral supply chains.
So today I am announcing that the next Conservative government will take a different approach. We will abolish the ZEV mandate.
In doing so, we will bring the UK back into line with other global markets and give businesses the freedom to respond to real consumer demand. It will also save billions in subsidies and tax concessions that have done little to address the root problems of infrastructure and affordability.
Most importantly, scrapping the mandate will give us the space to rebuild our car industry. A Conservative approach will support innovation, not force it through regulation that ignores economic reality. By ending the mandate, we can prioritise research and development where the UK has real competitive advantages. It will enable us to support advances in next generation automotive technologies, including hybrids, hydrogen and other low emission options that give consumers proper choice.
The transition to cleaner transport will continue, but it must be driven by affordability, practicality and technological progress. It should not be dictated by unrealistic mandates that weaken domestic manufacturing and empower foreign competitors.
If you make the UK uniquely punitive, you do not “lead the transition”, you export the jobs. That is why my approach in government, and now as Leader of the Opposition, is the right approach.
Labour, by contrast, is treating mandates as a substitute for strategy, warm words on the environment as a substitute for real economic policy, and the consequence is growing uncertainty, delayed investment decisions, and fewer jobs.
The manufacturing industry does not exist for photo ops or speech backgrounds, as Keir Starmer seems to think. It is a national asset that must be protected, and I am willing to be criticised for taking the right, if controversial approach, if it stops the deindustrialisation of the UK.
It’s time to get Britain working again, and only the Conservatives have a clear plan and a competent and united team to deliver it.
Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP is leader of the Conservative Party
