The Labour Party has released its election manifesto, containing standout policies such as a pledge to restore the 2030 ICE phase-out for cars and to fix an additional one million potholes a year across England.

The manifesto includes a pledge to restore the 2030 ICE phase-out for cars to speed up the EV transition

Unveiled at an event at the Co-op headquarters in Manchester, the manifesto was billed as a long-term plan for change, rather than a quick fix, focused on economic growth and “stability” and featuring many previously announced policies.

Labour said its first steps for change would be delivering economic stability, cutting NHS waiting times, launching a new border security command, setting up Great British Energy as a publicly owned clean energy company, cracking down on anti-social behaviour and recruiting 6,500 new teachers. The party also outlined a tax lock for working people – a pledge not to raise rates of income tax, national insurance or VAT.

For fleets, drivers and the automotive sector, the headline offering was a commitment to restore the 2030 ICE phase-out for cars – as previously announced – in a move to speed up the transition to electric vehicles. This would be supported by accelerating charge point rollout and supporting buyers of second-hand electric cars by standardising the information supplied on the condition of batteries. However, there was no commitment to restoring the 2030 ICE phase-out date for vans and no news on grants.

Labour has also said it would secure the future of Britain’s automotive and steel industries through its National Wealth Fund, which includes an allocation for £1.5bn to new gigafactories so “our automotive industry leads the world”.

The party also pledged to “make the changes we need to forge ahead with new roads, railways, reservoirs, and other nationally significant infrastructure”.

For roads, this would include a commitment to maintain and renew the network, which the party said was “plagued by long-promised projects that are never delivered”.

Warning that “the potholes cratering our roads are a visible sign of the decline after 14 years of Conservative rule”, Sir Keir Starmer’s party said it would fix an additional one million potholes across England in each year of the next parliament, funded by deferring the A27 bypass in Sussex, which, it claimed, was “poor value for money”.

Labour also said it would support drivers by tackling the soaring cost of car insurance and would deliver a new road safety strategy.

Wider transport policies included a commitment to overhauling Britain’s railways, bringing them into public ownership, and to reform “the broken system” of bus services through new powers for local leaders to franchise local services, and lifting the ban on municipal ownership.

Plans to “secure the UK aviation industry’s long-term future” include promotion of sustainable aviation fuels, and work to encourage airspace modernisation.

It’s the latest election manifesto to launch this week, following the Lib Democrats, Conservatives and Green Party. The Lib Dems said they would restore the 2030 ICE ban for cars and vans, while the Green Party has said it would like to end sales of new petrol- and diesel-fuelled vehicles by 2027 and bring an end to the use of petrol and diesel vehicles on the road by 2035. The Tories meanwhile have said they would “back drivers” by stopping road pricing and reversing the ULEZ expansion in London.

Commenting on Labour’s plans, Jakob Pfaudler, AA CEO, said: “We are pleased that the Labour Manifesto reflects many of the policies outlined in the AA Motoring Manifesto.

“It is vital that the reintroduction of the 2030 new car zero-emission deadlines is accompanied by the acceleration of the rollout of charging points, investment in new gigafactories and support for drivers making the switch.

“The AA is pleased that this election has put motorists in the driving seat and that comprehensive policies are being discussed that should help to shape a better road ahead for all drivers.”

EV commitments welcome but one transport issue ‘notably absent’

The RAC said it was pleasing to see major concerns for drivers, such as local road maintenance and the transition to electric vehicles, high on the list of Labour’s priorities.

Head of policy Simon Williams added: “However, it remains the case that electric vehicles are still far too expensive for a majority of drivers. The next government has a great opportunity to stimulate demand by reintroducing a Plug-in Car Grant aimed at the cheaper end of the market. This would make zero-emission driving a possibility for far more people.”

He did, however, warn of a “notably absent” transport issue in the manifesto.

“The previous government promised £8.3bn of reallocated HS2 funding to resurface 5,000 miles of local roads. With no mention of reinstating HS2, it’s not apparent whether Labour would honour this spending commitment to tackle the nation’s pothole problem. If that proportion of budget – which would only resurface 3% of all council-run roads in England – is no longer dedicated to road maintenance, the proposed £320m from the A27 bypass would not even be a drop in the ocean.”

Auto Trader also welcomed the restoration of the 2030 ICE phase-out commitment for cars.

Ian Plummer, commercial director, said: “Manufacturers and broader industry are already working towards this date following the ZEV mandate that the Government announced last year, so it makes sense to align consumer expectations providing them more certainty.

“We also welcome the broader commitments to standardise battery information to reassure buyers, given battery health worries are proving a blocker for some consumers considering making the switch. Although there is more a new government could do – such as cutting VAT on public charging and supporting the used EV market – to encourage greener motoring.”

Eco campaign group Transport & Environment said it was positive that Labour had recognised that better public transport tackles congestion, air pollution and climate change, and the measures to make more people confident about switching to an EV.

Matt Finch, UK policy manager, went on: “But Labour needs to think hard about what they’re going to do to tackle the pollution spewing out of our trucks, planes and ships as they are significant obstacles in achieving a zero-emission transport system that works for everyone in the UK.”

2030 ICE phase-out won’t happen without help

EV charging company Cord said Labour had been “frustratingly unclear on what it would do to boost EV uptake to meet the 2030 goal it has recommitted” to.

“It won’t happen without some help,” said Paul Tomlinson, Cord co-founder. “Private EV sales are seriously lagging. Public money is tight, but there are a series of small interventions which could do a lot, and wouldn’t cost much.

Measures advocated by Cord include using the planning system to make it easier to install home chargers, and considering a temporary VAT cut on EVs.

Tomlinson also urged the incoming government to end fossil fuel subsidies.

“The Government has spent an estimated £130bn freezing the fuel tax since 2011, a massive subsidy for fossil fuel driving. Thawing out that freeze would send the appropriate price signal to drivers on the fence about making the switch.”

And the Social Market Foundation, an independent British political public policy think-tank, said more needed to be done to ensure EVs go to the households that need them most.

Gideon Salutin, SMF senior researcher, said: “EVs can save households thousands of pounds in the long run, but their high up-front price leaves them out of reach for millions. Social leasing, which subsidises the cost of car leasing for low-income households, could pull hundreds of thousands out of poverty for a fraction of the cost of other policies, cleaning our air and making our streets healthier.”

Tara Foley, CEO of Axa UK&I, greeted the announcement about battery health standardiation.

“Axa UK has long been calling for standardised battery health certificates to drive affordability of second-hand EVs. Currently there is no method for fairly pricing second- and third-hand EVs and no clear benchmark for customers, so we are pleased to see this commitment in Labour’s manifesto. We hope any future government will make this a priority and we would look to work with them on this key proposal.”

Finally, Robin Heap, CEO of Zest, said: “I welcome the support for EV infrastructure development in the Labour manifesto. I am also encouraged by the party’s commitment to planning reform.

“To support a more rapid transition to electric vehicles, abundant EV charging must be available where everyone can use it – in the heart of every community. We can’t just leave it to local authorities, and currently private investment in community charging is being held back by a planning framework designed for a different age.”

The Labour party’s general election manifesto is online here.