The Transport Secretary did not holding back in his latest attack of Labour as he warned the party is “not on the side of drivers”.
Mark Harper, who has been at the Department for Transport since 2022, has urged drivers to not back Labour in the upcoming General Election.
The Conservative Transport Secretary warned drivers that if Labour were to come into power, they would be in a much worse position.
He flagged how their “promises” for drivers “don’t add up” referencing both the Ulez fines in London and unsuccessful 20mph limits in Wales which are in the process of reversing.
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Labour expanded Ulez expansion last year
| PEXELSHarper said on social media: “Labour taxed the poorest drivers with Ulez expansion and held Wales back with blanket 20mph zones.
“They aren't on the side of motorists. Their promises today don’t add up, distracting from their plan for pay per mile road taxes & hiking fuel duty like when they were last in power.”
The politician recently promised not to introduce pay per mile taxes for drivers. Speaking to GB News, Harper reassured the public that he will “back motorists” and not introduce more taxes.
Harper also promised to reverse the Ulez expansion which was rolled out last year and is in place across the whole of London.
In another social media post, Harper detailed how he helped prevent the number of protestors obstructing UK roads.
He explained how he had authorised National Highways to prevents protestors from obstructing major roads which includes the M25.
He wrote: “As Transport Secretary, I authorised National Highways to go to court to prevent eco protestors sabotaging our road network.
“How about Keir Starmer’s choice for Transport Secretary? Labour are not on the side of drivers.”
Harper also told GB News: “We're going to reverse the Ulez expansion so not changing the Ulez that exists in central London, but the expansion that the Mayor of London did.
“It was purely about raising money, his own impact assessment said it would have a minor to negligible effect on air quality. It wasn't about air quality, it was about taxing motorists, particularly the poorest ones, off the road.”
Labour recently promised in its Manifesto pledge that it would help reduce premiums on car insurance as prices continue to climb.
Keir Starmer's party said it will address the high costs associated with car insurance by calling in regulators to crack down on the causes of soaring costs.
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Three out of five drivers have not paid Ulez fines
| PAFor the average driver, motor insurance costs are around £900, with younger road users expected to fork out more than £3,000 to insure themselves when on the roads, and has long been a point of contention for drivers.
Labour also vowed to call in the Competitions and Markets Authority and Financial Conduct Authority to investigate the postcode pricing practices and whether they target ethnic minorities and those on lower incomes.