British public want governement to end support for polluting vehicles

More than half of British adults (56%) believe that money from government scrappage schemes should only be used for low-polluting or electric vehicles, according to a new poll commissioned by environmental law charity, Client Earth. 

The survey also revealed that 71% of respondents support incentives and subsidies for low-polluting vehicles to make them more affordable, such as VAT exemptions and government grants. 

According to government information obtained by ClientEarth, 25 out of 39 local authorities still haven’t finalised their plans to tackle illegal air pollution in their respective regions. 

This includes places such as Greater, Manchester, Newcastle and Bristol, which are almost a year and a half behind their plans. 

According to the survey, only a third of the British public think these delays are justifiable, with 58% supporting the introduction of Clean Air Zones.

Simon Alcock, head of public affairs at ClientEarth, said: ‘Public attitudes have changed and the government should stop succumbing to the pressure of those in the car lobby who are still resistant to the inevitable direction of travel.

‘It’s straightforward: using public money to keep petrol and diesel vehicles flowing onto our roads is directly against the public interest as it ignores the urgent need to tackle air pollution and the climate crisis.

‘Scrappage schemes only make sense if used to help people and small businesses transition to cleaner modes of transport. People want to breathe cleaner air and many are crying out for help to buy cleaner vehicles. If the Prime Minister wants to make the UK ‘the home of electric vehicles’ then a scrappage scheme should only be used for these types of vehicles.

‘The UK Government needs to sort out this mess and prioritise investments that will actually clean up our transport, transform how we travel, and protect people’s health. They have procrastinated for too long.’

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