This push for electric cars isn’t about a culture war. It’s a simple choice. Can we prepare British industry to take advantage of the changes that are coming? Or will we leave it alone to let our competitors run laps until we decide whether to change our tires? Or?

The previous government, including the current opposition leader, may have been content to play politics with people’s jobs at stake by delaying the end of sales of new gasoline and diesel cars. But this government is not like that.

Prior to that, we were on track to meet the 2030 deadline and the electric vehicle mandate had wide support from industry. More than two-thirds of UK car manufacturers had already committed to a full transition to electric cars by 2030, and investment was starting to pour into building electric cars here at home.

However, the decision to delay the transition has resulted in significant costs for companies that were already gearing up to meet the 2030 deadline, dealing a major blow to our credibility and putting investment, jobs, and growth at risk.

This Government has clearly recognized the fact that if we want the car industry to survive in the UK, we need to provide certainty and confidence to investors, not change our targets.

Having grown up in Sunderland, home to the Nissan factory, I know first-hand how important the car industry is to local communities in delivering growth, jobs, and wealth creation. The UK car industry employs over 150,000 people, and its continued success plays a major role in our mission to grow the economy.

If we get this transition right and support the growth of the UK electric vehicle market, we have a huge opportunity to tap into a multi-billion pound industry that can create well-paid jobs for decades to come.

That’s why in our manifesto we committed to moving back the transition to electric cars to 2030 and phasing out the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines.

But we want to work with industry and make sure that their voice is heard on how to get there. That’s why we’re fast-tracking a consultation to see how the government can support manufacturers, investors, and the industry as a whole to achieve our goals. To be clear, the content of this consultation is how do not have if We will achieve this ambition.

Working families also benefit from this transition. EVs are becoming more affordable and practical, prices are starting to fall, they are cheaper to run and maintain, range is improving, charging infrastructure is expanding rapidly, and demand in the UK is increasing. It is increasing.

And of course, with road traffic contributing up to 30% of air pollution, a shift to electric vehicles means cleaner, healthier air for our children and future generations.

Delaying the transition will only make it harder and more expensive for the industry and families in the long run. That’s why we want to do everything possible to ensure that the next generation of zero-emissions vehicles are designed and manufactured here in the UK, are affordable and accessible to workers, and encourage the uptake of electric vehicles. That’s what I think.

That’s why the Chancellor announced more than £2 billion will be spent on producing zero-emission cars. This funding will support the latest research and development of these technologies, accelerate commercial scale-up, and enable capital investment.

On the demand side, people involved in promoting electric vehicles are concerned about the availability of charging points. That’s why we’re investing over £200m to accelerate the rollout of charging points, building on the 71,000 public charging points already available.

We are currently taking proactive steps to foster stability in this sector, but we are also developing long-term plans to ensure UK motor manufacturing can grow and thrive.

We are already seeing manufacturers embrace zero-emission vehicles and the transition to a greener economy, with governments fully supporting manufacturers. Jaguar Land Rover will move to a 100% fully electric vehicle range over the next five years, investing billions of dollars into the UK economy. At the same time, we can see Toyota investing heavily to make its UK manufacturing operations 100% carbon neutral by 2030.

When governments say decarbonization must not mean deindustrialization, we mean it. There is no path to net zero without the support of British industry and workers.

With Ford recently announcing job cuts across Europe and Stellantis proposing to close Vauxhall’s Luton factory, we’ve learned more about the global challenges facing the industry and how we’re working to help. We have no doubts about the need to play a role.

That’s exactly why I’ve been sitting around the table talking directly with industry leaders about how best to make this transition happen, and my message has always been loud and clear. The Government is listening and we will work closely with you to deliver our plans.

The bottom line is: Either we look ahead and leverage the clean energy transition to deliver growth, creating new jobs and a greener future, or we fall behind. is. This government will not make the same mistakes as the past and will not tolerate it.