Daily Mail commentary: Putting the brakes on green cars now

We would all like to see the UK become a country where only zero-emission electric cars drive quietly on the streets.

Our country will be greener, the air cleaner and our people healthier.

Even so, the Post made no apology for opposing a ban on the sale of new petrol or diesel cars from 2030 – a crucial step for the government to move towards net zero emissions.

For politicians eager to showcase their green virtues, it would be reckless to impose such tight deadlines, seemingly without regard for economic and social harm.

Our ‘Rethinking the 2030 Petrol Car Ban’ campaign highlights the huge flaws of a hasty transition to electric vehicles. The technology is nascent, eye-poppingly expensive and has questionable efficiency. Where exactly does the impetus to run them come from?

Shocking figures show Westminster alone has more charging stations than the six major cities in the Midlands and North combined. How will motorists outside London cope unless the government spends huge sums to expand the network?

Imperfect public transport means their cars are a necessity, not a leather luxury.

This raises suspicions that the policy is driven by a metropolitan elite out of touch with reality. For now, ministers should hit the brakes.

threats to press freedom

If the polls with Labor leading by 20 percentage points are correct, the Conservatives face a bloodbath at the election.

Looking back at their 13 years in power, it’s hard to point to any major Conservative achievements (except, of course, Brexit, but that was imposed on them by a staunch public).

However, there is still time for the Conservatives to make it harder for a Labor government to leave an objectionable mark on the country. One way is to repeal section 40 of the notorious Crime and Courts Act as promised.

This pernicious legislation will force newspapers that refuse to sign with state-backed regulators (i.e. the vast majority) to pay the legal fees of any suers, whether they win or lose. This will have a fatal impact on press freedom.

Disturbingly, Labor said there was no point in repealing the Act because it was never enacted. This is dishonest nonsense.

While Article 40 remains in the code, any future leftist government could trigger it, forcing newspapers to accept regulation controlled by their peers. The danger to the Conservative Party is clear.

No matter how cool the government is, it still has a strong majority of 60 seats. Rishi Sunak must use it to throw this unjust and unfree law into the dustbin of history.

banks wake up miserably

The Bank of England has one core job: keeping inflation at 2%. Premier Andrew Bailey has clearly missed that target as house prices soared to an unacceptable 8.7 per cent.

His regrettable slowness in raising interest rates to curb inflation has caused unnecessary pain. Many families are struggling to pay their bills, and millions face mortgage pain.

Given his culpability, you’d think Mr. Bailey would do everything in his power to bail us out of this dire economic quagmire. Well, think again.

As the bank supports working from home, employees are only required to be in the office two days a week. It is wasting time planning to install green heat pumps at its headquarters, while at the same time displaying its awakened LGBTQ credentials by writing an official dossier, saying anyone of any gender can get pregnant.

So perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that bank governors have proven so incompetent at controlling inflation. If they cannot grasp the simplest biological facts, what chance do they have of understanding the more complex macroeconomics?