Tory leader Kemi Badenoch was seen wearing a high pair of heels today as she met up with circuit CEO Jonathan Palmer and tried out racing cars at Brands Hatch.
She wore overalls with her striking footwear as she was shown around the Kent site on Monday 15th December. She did later switch to a pair of trainers as she climbed into the driving seat of a Formula 4 car.
The visit came as she called for the 2030 ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles to be scrapped. The EU is thought to be ditching its equivalent policy, heaping pressure on Labour to follow suit.
The Tory leader also said she would slash subsidies for the electric sector to save the taxpayer £3.8billion over the next decade. That would include thousands of pounds in grants for purchasing EVs along with funding for non-research and development programmes. To reverse the 2030 petrol car ban, Mrs Badenoch intends to scrap the ‘destructive’ Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate.
Under the law, car manufacturers must meet rapidly increasing quotas for sales of electric vehicles (EVs), which will eventually rise to 100 per cent. This means fully petrol and diesel-powered cars will be banned from 2030. But industry figures have privately raised concerns that demand from the public for EVs is not strong enough to meet the quotas.
Mrs Badenoch said ‘Labour’s rush to Net Zero is having a disastrous effect on the UK car industry. The Conservatives will ensure that we protect the environment, but we will do so without forcing families to bear the brunt of the costs, and forcing car makers to meet deadlines that don’t reflect consumer demand. By scrapping the ZEV mandate and the ban on petrol cars we are putting fairness and common sense back into the system and saving money for taxpayers.’
In 2020, the then Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson first unveiled plans for a ban on petrol and diesel cars from 2030. Two years ago, his successor, Rishi Sunak delayed the ban on new petrol cars until 2035.
Then in a policy flip-flop, Labour reinstated the 2030 ban earlier this year, arguing that Net Zero was the ‘economic opportunity of the 21st century’. Reform UK has also said it will scrap the ban on petrol and diesel cars.
