8:14 am, October 14, 2022
Labour could bring in a new national scrappage scheme if it’s returned to power.
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh gave the hint while speaking at a Green Alliance/Institute for Public Policy Research gathering.
Talking at a fringe meeting during the Labour party conference in Liverpool, she was asked about the initiative that sees motorists paid to get rid of and replace their polluting vehicles.
Haigh was reported by various media to have replied: ‘Absolutely something we’re looking really carefully at… keep your eyes peeled.’
It adds weight to the tweet that the Sheffield Heeley MP put out in March, saying Labour would try out a nationwide scrappage scheme.
A national scrappage scheme was originally introduced in May 2009 with £400m of government backing – £300m initially and then a further £100m in September of that year.
It gave people a £2,000 discount off the price of a new vehicle and was brought in to jump-start the automotive industry that was ailing because of the recession, with registrations going down each month.
As a result of the scheme, registrations reportedly increased by 28 per cent.
To be eligible for trading in, the car had to be at least 10 years old (or at least eight years old for a van). They also had to have been with that owner for more than 12 months. In addition, the vehicle needed to have a valid MOT.
The government and the car’s manufacturer each provided half of the £2,000 outlay, and almost 400,000 cars went the way of the crusher.
At the moment, scrappage schemes are operated individually by Birmingham City Council, TfL, Kia and Renault.
Pictured at top: An old VW Beetle car (right) is parked next to a new Ford Focus in east London in May 2009 as the scrappage scheme is introduced. Picture by Yui Mok/PA Archive/PA Images
