Jonathan Reynolds has said Labour risks losing working-class support if the net-zero transition costs British industrial jobs, as he signalled further changes to electric-car sales rules.
The Labour and Co-operative MP for Stalybridge and Hyde and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade said the destination remained electric vehicles but that the pace of change had to protect domestic production and employment.
Reynolds argued that Britain should not meet its climate targets simply by importing cheaper electric vehicles from China while British manufacturers faced pressure at home and in export markets.
The current zero-emission vehicle mandate requires 80 per cent of new cars sold to be fully electric by the end of the decade. Ministers are considering a lower target, but no final percentage or policy decision has been announced.
The intervention places the treatment of the automotive sector at the centre of the Government’s attempt to combine decarbonisation with an industrial strategy. It also increases pressure on ministers to explain how any revised mandate would affect emissions, investment and manufacturing jobs.
