Andy Burnham has been urged to ditch Rachel Reeves' controversial pay-per-mile car tax scheme and replace it with a flat fee. Reeves confirmed electric cars would be charged 3p per mile to use the roads from 2028, with the new electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) one of her last major policy decisions as Chancellor. The average road user travelling 10,000 miles per year will be expected to pay £300 per annum under the changes.
Campaigners demand reversal
The new fee was slammed by motorists and EV experts, with campaigners now pushing the Prime Minister to intervene. Mr Burnham was involved in scaling back Clean Air Zone rules in his previous role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, and campaigners have demanded that he push for a similar reversal here.
Instead of a per-mile fee, which will vary based on total travel, a new Parliament petition is asking for EV owners to face an annual charge. This would be set at £200 per year, with road users then able to travel as much as they like without incurring extra charges.
Petition calls for flat rate
The petition reads: “Scrap the 3p pay per mile tax on EVs and 1.5p per mile on Hybrids entirely, & charge every driver the flat rate of £200 in VED instead.
"EV owners already pay a flat rate of £200 per year in VED, so it seems to us the Government wants essentially to tax people twice for using the road. We think It should be one of the other, as pay per mile is a tax on people's freedom, a tax on going on a holiday, a tax to drive abroad, a tax to go to work & a tax to visit the shop.
"We feel this will just put people off switching to an EV, putting it at odds with the country's net zero targets, and will also put those who own EVs off travelling for leisure, affecting businesses outside of cities.”
Petition thresholds and timeline
The petition must reach at least 10,000 signatures to warrant an official Government response. However, a whopping 100,000 signatures must be received for the issue to be considered for debate. The poll will run until the middle of February, meaning there is still plenty of time for the survey to cross the threshold.
HM Revenue and Customs has previously admitted that the new pay-per-mile fee was critical to offset the loss of fuel duty revenues as more road users switch from petrol and diesel models to EVs.
HMRC said: “All vehicles contribute to congestion and wear and tear on the roads, but drivers of petrol and diesel vehicles pay fuel duty at the pump to contribute their fair share. However, drivers of electric vehicles do not currently pay an equivalent.
“As more people choose to switch to cleaner, greener electric cars, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has forecast fuel duty receipts will decline. eVED is intended to help replace lost fuel duty revenue from cars over the long term so, like fuel duty, the amount motorists pay will vary based on the amount they drive.”
