Liam Byrne
Main Page: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)Department Debates - View all Liam Byrne's debates with the HM Treasury
(2 weeks, 6 days ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
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Liam Byrne (Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North) (Lab)
Thank you for facilitating the urgent question, Mr Speaker. I welcome the announcements on fuel duty, but I did not hear the Chief Secretary say anything about remedies for the new costs on drivers of electric vehicles. Those new costs, imposed at the last Budget, are suppressing demand for electric vehicles to such an extent that UK automakers are having to subsidise demand by £5 billion a year. That is imperilling their future and imperilling the target of doubling automotive production by 2035. Can we have a statement about what the Government will do to reform the zero emission vehicle mandate and get in place a plan that leads to a thriving auto industry, not a dying one?
Lucy Rigby
My right hon. Friend makes an important point. I know how passionate he is about these issues. He refers to changes made at the Budget, which were made with the best of intentions and from the point of view of encouraging the use of electric vehicles. I believe that the Chancellor may say something on that later on.