Labour blasted for splashing eye-watering £4.5m on promoting marketing campaign for EVs | Politics | News | EUROtoday

The Department for Transport is forking out on the Get That Electric Feeling marketing campaign to “boost uptake” of electrical autos forward of the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles. But Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden savaged the transfer, saying: “If EVs truly sold themselves, Labour would not need a £4.5million advertising campaign to push them.”

The Tory MP demanded a breakdown of spending after quizzing ministers in Parliament, however was instructed prices couldn’t be revealed as a result of “the campaign is currently live”. Mr Holden stated: “Labour are spending millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money trying to convince drivers to buy electric cars while forcing the market through mandates.”

He added: “The Conservatives are clear that the future should be drivetrain neutral. We will end top-down mandates and let innovation, competition and consumer choice decide what people drive.”

The marketing campaign price range for 2025-26 stands at £4.56million, excluding contractors, which means the true price to the taxpayer may very well be even greater.

Labour MP Keir Mather, responding to Mr Holden’s query, stated the marketing campaign was launched “under the Make Britain a Clean Energy Superpower mission” to focus on “the benefits of driving an electric car, including lower charging and maintenance costs”.

He added: “Budgets for future phases have not yet been confirmed.”

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A Department for Transport spokesperson defended the spending, insisting: “By encouraging EV uptake, we’re helping motorists cut costs, with grants of up to £3,750 off a new electric car and savings of around £1,400 a year on running costs.”

They added: “Many EV drivers pay as little as 2p per mile, and this campaign helps people make informed choices about switching and putting money back in their pockets.”

The Government claims the marketing campaign is the most recent in a sequence of strikes supposed to spice up demand for EVs and encourage uptake.

The division stated it has already offered giant quantities of help by way of the Electric Car Grant, which has helped over 70,000 drivers buy an EV.

But the refusal to offer a breakdown of prices has sparked fury, with critics demanding transparency over how the £4.5million is being spent. The row comes as drivers face mounting stress to change to electrical autos regardless of considerations over charging infrastructure, greater upfront prices and restricted vary.