A left wing local council is slapping massive parking charges on electric vehicles (EVs) in the name of protecting the environment.
EV owners will also pay to park outside their homes for the first time in Westminster, Central London, with the charge being levied as part of a broader “climate change” package of imposts brought in by the Labour council.
The Sun reports local residents will find their general parking discount is axed from April — in a bid to achieve net zero.
Local Tory MP Nickie Aiken told the outlet: “It makes a mockery of its (Westminster’s) claims to want to tackle climate change and support small businesses with electric vans.”
But Westminster councillor Paul Dimoldenberg said it is keeping charges “fair, proportionate, and as low as possible.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has joined the fray saying the council should think again, accusing the council of “penalising hard-working people” and urged it to rethink “the damaging proposals”.
He spoke out in the House of Commons after local Conservative MP Nickie Aiken raised it at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The battery of an electric car is recharged at a roadside charging station on January 09, 2024 in Central London, England. A report by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed an 18% increase in new car registrations in the UK in 2023, but the percentage of new electric vehicles being sold remained flat. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Ed Pitt Ford, a Conservative councillor in the area, slammed the move, saying local motorists and businesses would be hammered by the costs, GB News reports.
The councillor for Pimlico North Ward, said: “The council are proposing a massive tax hike on electric vehicle drivers as they increase parking charges by up to 1,800 per cent on EVs.
“Particularly hard-hit will be tradespeople and small businesses who have done the right thing by switching to EVs and will now see charges increase by up to £35 a day.
“It’s not good for business, it’s not good for climate change and it’s not good for residents.”
Similarly, Nickie Aiken, Conservative MP for Westminster, said it “beggars’ belief” the Labour-run council wanted to increase parking fees for cleaner vehicles.