Rachel Reeves ‘to cost households £189m’ for Christmas visits | Politics | News | EUROtoday

Millions of individuals jumped within the automobile to reunite with family members over the Christmas break. But the festive drive is ready to grow to be a serious moneyspinner for the Treasury in years to return, due to Labour’s road-pricing plan. New evaluation exhibits that the federal government’s pay-per-mile scheme is ready to price drivers £189 million over future Christmas holidays.

It follows Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s announcement of a brand new per-mile cost for electrical and plug-in hybrid vehicles, coming into drive from April 2028. At the identical time, the Government plans to ban the sale of recent petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030, making certain growing numbers of motorists can pay the price.

According to Kwik Fit, UK drivers journey a collective 6.3 billion miles over the Christmas interval, equal to 169 miles every.

With the federal government’s introduction of a pay-per-mile driving scheme at 3p per mile, this implies driving dwelling for Christmas will price UK drivers £189million in future years.

Conservatives mentioned impression can be felt most by working individuals who depend on their vehicles to see household, juggle childcare, or journey lengthy distances through the holidays.

Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden mentioned: “At a time when families should be planning Christmas journeys and looking forward to seeing loved ones, Rachel Reeves is stuffing drivers’ stockings with yet another tax. On top of raising fuel duty by 5p per litre, Labour are ramming through a half-baked pay-per-mile scheme that will make festive travel more expensive.

“Labour promised there would be no pay-per-mile tax, then wrapped one up to kick in from 2028 and hoped nobody would spot it under the tree. It’s rushed, it’s sloppy, and it’s nothing more than a raid on working people to pay for their welfare bonanza.”

Ministers mentioned as lately as September that the Government had “no plans” to introduce highway pricing. However the Government says a cost is required as a result of electrical automobiles contribute to congestion and put on and tear on the roads however usually are not charged any equal to gas obligation.