Labour and Conservative party conferences 2023: everything you need to know
October 19, 2023 by Jamie Edkins
Car changing is a big deal
The 2023 Labour and Conservative party conferences have been and gone, and both sides have big plans for the country鈥檚 motorists. Read on for all you need to know.
Conservative party conference 2023: Transport Secretary demands review of 15 minute cities
Prior to the Conservative Party Conference, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the ban on petrol and diesel car sales in the UK would be pushed back from 2030 to 2035. Now, Transport Secretary Mark Harper has outlined more policies aimed at motorists.
He called for a review of 15 minute cities, calling them 鈥渟inister鈥. But what exactly is a 15 minute city?
Essentially, a 15 minute city is one where people can get to all the necessary amenities within a 15 minute walk or cycle ride, including things like shops, schools and doctors surgeries.
While this seems idyllic, it has been a source of controversy for some time now because people believe they discourage driving and limit freedom of movement in their cars. You can read more about 15 minute cities in carwow鈥檚 guide.
Talking at the Conservative Party Conference, Mark Harper said: There鈥檚 nothing wrong with making sure people can walk or cycle to the shops or school, that鈥檚 traditional town planning.
鈥淏ut what is different, what is sinister, and what we shouldn鈥檛 tolerate, is the idea that local councils can decide how often you go to the shops, and that they can ration who uses the roads and when, and that they police it all with CCTV.
鈥淪o today, I am announcing that the Government will investigate what options we have in our toolbox to restrict overzealous use of traffic management measures including cutting off councils from the DVLA database if they don鈥檛 follow the rules.鈥
Mr Harper also hit out at the blanket use of 20 mph speed limits, saying that they are 鈥測et another way to punish drivers鈥, a sentiment which was shared with the leader of the Welsh Conservative Group in the Senedd Andrew Davies following the rollout of a default 20mph speed limit across Wales.
Mr Davies said: 鈥淣early half a million people have signed a petition calling for Labour鈥檚 blanket 20mph speed limits to be scrapped. But Mark Drakeford won鈥檛 listen.
鈥淎nd the Labour minister who imposed blanket 20mph speed limits on Wales arrogantly dismissed the decent Welsh people who signed the petition as anti-road safety.鈥
He also claims that the new 20mph speed limit will cost the Welsh Government up to 拢9 billion, with up to 拢40 million going towards the changing of road signs.
UK Transport Secretary Mark Harper argued that introducing blanket 20mph speed limits may result in drivers ignoring them when they are truly needed. He said: 鈥20mph zones are a good way to protect schools, for quiet residential areas, or areas that are becoming rat runs.
鈥淲e will change the DfT鈥檚 guidance, requiring councils to only use 20mph zones where there is good reason, and underlining that 30mph is the default speed limit on urban roads.鈥
Labour would introduce standardised battery testing for used EVs
The focus at the Labour Party Conference was more on railways than roads after the recent scrapping of the HS2 high-speed rail service. That said, there were a few mentions of motoring.
To speed up the adoption of EVs, Labour said it would introduce standardised battery testing on used electric cars, giving buyers more confidence when buying second hand, as well as giving more realistic estimates of the real-world range of new electric vehicles.
Speaking at the Labour Party Conference, Shadow Business Secretary Jonathon Reynolds said: 鈥淓very family deserves the chance to have an affordable, reliable car in their driveway. Labour knows the value of vehicles to our economy and society 鈥 that鈥檚 why we have a plan to drive the British automotive industry confidently into the future.鈥
Mr Reynolds also addressed the UK鈥檚 electric car charging infrastructure, vowing to install reliable charging networks in every part of the country, as well as promising to increase domestic battery manufacturing amid concerns about the looming rules of origin changes.
The Rules of Origin specify that 40% of the parts value of an electric car have to be 鈥榣ocal鈥 content, meaning the parts come from the country in which it鈥檚 built. Cars which don鈥檛 meet this criteria will have a 10% import tariff if exported to the EU.
However, these rules are changing as part of a trade deal between Britain and the EU, the percentage of local content an EV must be made from is increasing from 40% to 45%. Because the battery makes up such a large percentage of an EVs value, increasing local battery production is important for car makers to avoid this import charge.
With a general election coming next year, you can expect both parties to come out with new policies on motoring over the next few months. Keep an eye on this page to stay up to date.