âThe team at Facts4EU.Org have published a 2-part report on electric vehicles (EVs) in which I am quoted and which readers may find interesting.
Part I (https://facts4eu.org/news/2024_jan_electric_scalextric) is about the new law which came into effect on 03 January, about which relatively little has been written.
Part II (https://facts4eu.org/news/2024_jan_electric_scalextric_2) draws on the experience of one motorist who was forced to sell his EV after just 5 months and buy a petrol car instead. Readers will recall I published this motoristâs comments recently.â
January 9, 2024
Keeping you old petrol car is almost invariably much cheaper, more flexible. can tow. refill in 5 mins. better range, saves CO2 and is better for the enevironment!
January 9, 2024
By definition it truly is recycling & sustainability âŠour government should be promoting our use of and the re-use of broken, repairable or just plain old products
January 9, 2024
I caught a bit Mr Bates vs the Post Office yesterday. In it there was civil case claiming circa ÂŁ30k against a man representing himself (I assume he had little choice but to self-represent) was won by the plaintiff and who were awarded something like the ÂŁ30k claimed + 300k legal costs.
The logic of this is that even if the evidence is very strong and gives the defendent a very high 90% chance of winning it is still better for them to settle early and pay the ÂŁ30k before costs accrue. Run the case 10 times you save 9x30k = 270k but lose ÂŁ330K on the one case you lose. If this is justice I am a banana as Hislop might put it.
Yet our wonderful legal system, judges & lawyers seem to have such little grasp of probability they think this is just fine it seems. The scales of justice are thus hugely distorted.
But then our moronic courts accepted the evidence from some deluded prosecution âexpertâ some expert in a cot death murder case, âfor an affluent non-smoking family like the Clarks, the probability of a single cot death was 1 in 8,543, so the probability of two in the same family was around “1 in 73 million” (8543 Ă 8543).â
Perhaps Sunak is right for once – these idiotic lawyer do need a bit more maths or probability? But then again perhaps most do not have the right type of brains to follow it. Then perhaps this bent system enriches lawyers so drinks for lawyers and judges all round.
January 9, 2024
Justice is a rich man’s sport.
January 9, 2024
The consuming user knows best according to their own needs and experience. The Peugeot owner âin a position to changeâ could have planned more carefully to avoid choosing such a bad outcome. Fortunately his unpleasant experience creates a strong signal to help others avoid the folly of buying EV waste and nuisance.
January 9, 2024
A situation which will soon be forced upon us all, by law, due to the policies of this Tory government
January 10, 2024
Not if you buy a replacement petrol car before they make it illegal for you to make your own decisions, which is what I intend doing.
January 10, 2024
and the one after that ….I bet the rich & famous can buy there new RR from europe and import it to the UK
January 9, 2024
Andrew Bridgen MP was one of the first MPs to push for justice for these post office managers. He was right then and is right now on the vast vaccine harms. A problem perhaps some 10,000 times worse in terms of harms done and the compensation properly due. Sound very expensive indeed but good news for lawyers as usual. This with damages and surely many corporate and government manslaughter cases.
It seems that on the day the Telegraph published story about vaccine harms they received a threatening phone call from a senior official at the MHRA warning that The Telegraph would be banned from future briefings and press notices if we did not âsoftenâ the news. By âSoftenâ I assume they ment hide the truth or lie to their readers that they were not dangerous? Who funds circa 80% of the MHRA but Big Pharma?
January 9, 2024
No one under about 50 (other than with certain medical conditions) needed the vaccines even if they had been âsafe and effectiveâ. This was very clear at the time, so what were these âexpertsâ doing? Still pushing them at children now in some countries. Even now still pushing them at people in the UK and at hospital workers!
January 9, 2024
This once again highlights the abject stupidity of the uniparty as liebour and the limp dumb would be worse.
The minister says going electric will create welk paid jobs. He fails to mention these will be in china
Our whole infrastructure is being handed over to china with absolutely no benefit for the British citizens.
Reform s the only party committed to halting this nonesense
January 10, 2024
According to August 2023 edition of EV magazine SMMT reported around 107,000 EV registrations in 2022. Of these the vast majority, around 100,000 were built in USA, UK, Europe, Japan and Korea while only around 7,000 were built in China so the jobs are not all in China.
The Chinese vehicles do have a cheaper sticker price though..
But you might raise a similar issue with other products our consumers buy – manufacturing has migrated to China, India and other lower cost places because UK government and consumers simply don’t care. They can be told repeatedly over decades that importing and buying cheap will cost our people and economy dearly.
But no-one listens let alone takes heed.
In the meantime UK developed technologies get hoovered up by foreign interests.
Reply China dominates the battery market. BYD has just overtaken Tesla in vehicles produced and Tesla makes in China.
January 11, 2024
So where is the clamouring support for on-shore battery battery materials and manufacturing. Why no loud complaints that everything else has foreign components and/or material or ownership?
Reply I regularly press for more UK manufacturing. There is a big issue over battery location as batteries are a high proportion of the costs of a new EV affecting* whether the whole car qualifies as UK made for trade and tariff purposes.
January 11, 2024
I agree battery R&D and manufacturing is a strategic issue, a national security issue, though we should probably be aiming at Sodium Ion rather than Lithium Ion.
We should also be investing in battery recovery, re-manufacturing and recycling avoid the costs, energy and mess of the original mining and processing to produce new batteries.
This would be a lower cost and more sustainable approach for our benefit … but I doubt the spivs and their friends would like it.
January 9, 2024
Just finance cost and depreciation of a new EV and short lived battery can exceed the full running costs per mile of your old petrol/diesel car. Insurance more as is tyre wear, general inconvenience and road wear. Plus most people in cities have no where to park and charge them. Cannot tow either really and small boots due to battery space needed. Check the full batter gâtee small print (they may not even comply anyway) and perhaps halve the quoted range for use on hilly roads, colder days with lights, wipers and the heater on.
Plus you are not âsaving the Earthâ quite the reverse.
January 9, 2024
Scary out of control Conservative Government. We the Government will force you the Electorate to buy from China the Worldâs largest Polluter.
The UK along with the EU have dropped the requirement all vehicles should have at least 40% UK or EU manufactured components in favor of increasing World Pollution. The UK Conservative Government will now fine, punish, those selling cars that do not include Chinese components.
The PM has given a Indian Company tons of our hard-earned tax pounds to front up a Chinese owned assembly plant in Somerset. But the same PM will not support UK Owned enterprise.
January 9, 2024
I have no problems with Foreign Governments or Entities earning from the UK. However, I see it as unreasonable when the same is not reciprocated. Then we have to add in the actions of a UK Conservative Government that appear to do it and do it maliciously so as to undermine UK Enterprise from even getting off the ground.
In particular we have with this Conservative Governments bogus religion of NetZero being the ploy for them being able to send our tax money abroad to subsidies other States (for our energy) while at the same time cancelling our ability to manufacture then go on to instead force us to buy from the Worlds polluters. It would be more rational and palatable if all these imports we need were manufactured with the same end to end pollution criteria as the UK imposes internally. Without that this Conservative Government is duplicitous in the big lie as to their purpose in out lives.
January 9, 2024
Spot on Ian B
January 9, 2024
I cannot understand government, or should I say more correctly, civil service thinking on this.
Pressure has resulted in Sunak putting off the end of IC car sales in the UK, to match the timescale across the EU, yet, he has not made a corresponding change in his plan to fine manufacturers from this year if they fail to reach, frankly, unachievable targets for EV sales!
Is Sunak expecting manufacturers to charge the fines for selling insufficient EVs onto buyers of IC-engined cars, as the manufacturers of gas boilers are doing? The fines are not insubstantial, being up to ÂŁ15,000 for every car they are short of their EV target !
If so, the end result will be a very significant drop in the sale of all new cars, albeit with a slight increase in the proportion of EVs sold, while owners run on their perfectly sound IC-engined cars for several years longer. This would well kill of large sections of the car industry.
As governments never like to back down, The natural reaction will be for them to bring in large increases in fuel duty and road tax for people who run on their existing IC-engined cars. Ironically, running on our existing cars for longer is far more sustainable than buying an EV !
I predict that any government which foolishly refuses to back down will face Yellow-Jacket protests across the country and a recession. I for one will be helping organise the protests. Unlike Extinction Rebellion, this would be a mass movement and probably just the threat will be enough for a change of policy to be made.
PS German farmers have caught on, and brought large parts of the autobahn network to a halt over increases in Agricultural diesel fuel to be brought in by the Greens in government. Mutterings are going on in France over more protests since Macron recently proposed introducing widespread ULEZ schemes in great many more cities than the current ten.
January 10, 2024
See you on the barricades đ
January 10, 2024
There are already 15 French cities with ZFEs (âzones a faibles emissionsâ): Paris, Grand Paris, Rouen, Reims, Strasbourg, Clermont-Ferrand, Saint-Etienne, Lyon, Grenoble, Toulouse, Montpellier, Nice-Cote dâAzur, Aix-Marseille, Toulon-Provence, Fort-de-France. And a total of 43 cities and towns where free or low-cost public transport are already available.
This was originally discussed in a White Paper in October 2018 with first implementation by the end of 2020. The projectâs âarchitectsâ were Francois de Rugy (as Ministre pour la Transition Ecologique) and Elisabeth Borne (as Ministre des Transports) during the first Macronâs presidency.
And given that a number of these towns have introduced low-cost or even free Public Transit Systems, the mutterings, once the Gilets Jaunes crisis (essentially linked to an increase of petrol price affecting commuters from the countryside) was over, were rather limited.
Public transport free for under 18 exist in Paris, Lille, Strasbourg, Rouen, Montpellier, Nantes âŠ
cidj.com, 24/08/2021 âTransports en commun gratuits: quelles sont les villes concernĂ©es?â.
vie-publique.fr, 03/11/2023 âGratuite des transports en commun: une option qui fait dĂ©batâ.
obs-transport-gratuit.fr, English version of what has been happening in Dunkerque since 09/2018.
Reply The transport is not free but imposes a huge and growing burden on taxpayers.
January 9, 2024
I am really glad my life is almost over now I am approaching 80 because we have fools in government who are so stupid they cannot see that the market should be allowed to control the development of transport not some inky fingered clark in a government department.
We all know that so-called global warming is a scam, it is not well thought out. The rich conmen underestimate the public!
January 9, 2024
Its evident from the post office scandal that our ministers donât read or understand the policy papers presented to them âŠ.including EVs and net-zero, they just wave them through while looking for that next directorship
Reply Ministers do not normally leave office to take a Directorship and are banned from taking one in an area related to their Ministerial duties.
January 10, 2024
and yet Chris Skidmore MP had declare interest with Emissions Capture Company (industrial decarbonisation and clean technology) as an ‘Adviser’ on ÂŁ80k and a new Professorship with Bath University researching net-zero ….go figure
January 10, 2024
“Its evident … that our ministers donât read or understand the policy papers presented to them”
That’s become ever clearer. Also over time large organisations seem to have increasingly sought to keep out ‘the awkward squad’ who might read, understand *and* question.
Both main UK parties even apply this process to their candidates selection list. We don’t have independent MPs any more, well only those who got expelled and sit as independents (!) It’s a serious defect in our political system but it’s very cosy for the ‘elected dictatorship’.
January 10, 2024
GC, ACOBA (Advisory Committee On Business Appointments) allows previously ministers to take up advisory and board positions with private sector firms as long as they do not lobby the Government for two years after leaving office. This is part of the Ministerial Code.
instituteforgovernment.org.uk, 26/04/2019, âMinisterial Codeâ. Thatâs a comment on it.
20/09/2010 gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-code
The latest revision of it was published in December 2022.
January 9, 2024
It quickly became clear to me that electric cars were completely unacceptable for my sort of use. I drive Subarus now, and have had extensive trial runs in hybrid electric.
1. My typical medium distance journey is 250 miles. I learnt 50 years ago from my father never to stop more than necessary on a long journey. A quick stop for petrol, (5 minutes), and maybe for personal needs! Even the fastest of chargers cannot match this, and one might have to search for chargers and wait in a queue. Not acceptable
2. Range on electrics is uncertain and not nearly enough, varies with weatehr, age of batteries etc.
3. Batteries usually seem to displace spare wheel etc. Not acceptable.
4. Battery weight reduces performance and range.
5. Battery replacement like;ly to be very high part way through life of car. Cost of disposal of spent batteries.
Conclusion, if you add up all these and other factors, it is very doubtful if switching to electric cars will help the environment at all. There may be some limited use for short journies in urban areas, but not for general motoring.
6. If you add up the cost of making the batteries, the cost of disposing of spent batteries, etc. the case is even worse.
January 10, 2024
point 1) how far was the typical stop 125 miles? So time taken at least 2 hours unless you were able to average 70 the wholeway. A 5 minute petrol splash and dash before another 125 mile drive is hardly enough rest for body, eyes, refreshment etc. Even a dash for a pee is hardly restive. Pretty bad advice if you don’t mind me saying so.
January 9, 2024
The UK Politburo’s five year plan. Ths only difference between our Parliament of failed lawyers and Starlin’s henchmen is that we are forced to queue for fuel while they queued for bread. Yet another fine mess you are heading us into. On the plus side it renders you even less electable.
January 9, 2024
The latest YouGov/Times voting intention poll shows
Conservatives 22% (-2)
Labour 46% (+3)
January 9, 2024
”and the Greens have 7% (-1)” ….which is surprising …as the tories support them
January 9, 2024
A second thought. Can we not report all EV manufactures making false mileage range claims to the Advertising Standards Authority. Alternatively set up an independant standards test. Take a car from a showroom, fully charge it, drive it to a standstill, 50% in darkness, in winter, using the navigation, entertainment and air conditioning system so that when it stops that is what you get. It has the added plus of avoiding the manufacturer having to lie to us.
It is only what we expect of our ICE powered cars.
January 9, 2024
”when it stops” that it folks you have to call a recovery service ….while I’ve got a petrol can in the boot
January 11, 2024
The EV gives multiple warnings of increasing severity as you approach truly empty. The majority of ICE drivers simply wait till the light comes on but even that is too much for 70,000+ drivers a month – they don’t even have a petrol can in the boot and must rely on a recovery service, except by then they have also likely damaged the engine.
Reply Where did you get the 70,000 number from? I have never run out of fuel in my cars.
January 11, 2024
These articles refer to Green Flag research which I think was based on an earlier report (2015) cited in other articles by Liverpool Victoria Road Rescue that claimed 800,000 motorists had to be rescued from running out of fuel.
I have never run out of fuel, or battery charge, in any of my cars either but apparently many drivers do. 800k sounds a lot but there are an estimated 33.5m cars on UK roads so that would be about 2.5% run dry.
January 10, 2024
Apparently 70,000+ UK petrol/diesel drivers do this a month – drive to a standstill. It seems that ICE vehicle range also varies with conditions, vehicle, individual driving style etc but are they reporting “false” mileage claims?
January 10, 2024
petrol can = fixed
January 11, 2024
You make it sound so easy .. yet apparently 70k+ drivers a month don’t do it.
January 9, 2024
It used to be said that” the USA sneezes and the UK catches a cold” could the following be the cold making it’s way over here?
Ford America has stopped production of EVs with 1 million vehicles in dealers showrooms unsold. They have also closed a number of battery plants as well, all to save them from bankruptcy.
January 9, 2024
I remember reading an account by a man in Scotland who had a jaguar EV. He’d had issues with it from the start, and it had spent a lot of time in the repair garage. His turning point was New Year’s Eve, when the car died and he had to follow his angry wife home across snow laden fields with a kiddie in each hand! But his comment was, ‘hardly used EV for sale’ was an honest remark!
To legislate to force people to purchase a certain type of car they don’t necessarily want is outrageous and wholly undemocratic! Especially as more and more of us know that net zero is nothing to do with climate change! ULEZ has been labelled to do with clean air, because they know that no-one would believe anything else!
January 9, 2024
John, it still frustrates and saddens me that both the Conservatives and Labour wish to persist with Net Zero targets, policies and Frameworks against the will of the majority of people. It is authoritarian, unwanted, economically punishing and is not part of any democratic mandate (given it was only in the small print of all Parliamentary Parties and effectively there was no opposition choice given).
January 9, 2024
Another example of why we need to get rid of the political system as it exists today. It is a clear and present danger to our society, our civilisation and our lives. There is no reforming it, it’s way beyond that.
January 9, 2024
The Tory party still donât get it, its not about the environment, nor climate change âŠits about freedom of choice
January 9, 2024
Part II illustrates the practical difficulties and concerns owning and using an EV for lengthy journeys. There is a dire shortage of reliable and working charging points affecting many on their travels. What was not said is the fact that across the UK, there are many providers of charging points each requiring the user to have a different app on their phone or smart watch, some of them take typically ÂŁ45 off of the phone or smart watch before the charging starts. It can be a week before one gets the ÂŁ45 back minus the cost of the electricity.
I am an old man and I’ve just purchased a new petrol car which will easily see me out to the end of my driving days, having more sense than to buy an EV. If I fill it with petrol I can easily drive to Northern Scotland without refuelling. Try that in an EV, as you would have to make possibly three stops en route to recharge the vehicle. That alone would probably add one and a half to 2 hours to the journey, assuming that you don’t have to queue at the charging station and that the charges you actually work.
That said, I accept that an EV used for routine, work or shopping et cetera within its given range is a practical proposition and that many people find them quite acceptable, especially if they can charge them at home.
January 9, 2024
The alarmists
Last year was the planetâs hottest on record and likely the worldâs warmest in the last 100,000 years, the European Unionâs Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Tuesday.
A 100,000 years? Then says the records only go back to 1850!
A âvirtueâ expressed to say look at me the Media loves me
January 10, 2024
all done using a crude thermometer at how many locations, with someone holding the item, in the shade or full sun?
January 9, 2024
The future of EVs looks bright enough. Lord Bamford (of JCB diggers etc.) sees the EVs of today as being like prototypes, and big improvements can be expected, so reports an in agreement Harry Metcalf (founder of motor magazine EVO and now of YouTubeâs âHarryâs garageâ).
Mr. Metcalf reports (*) a significant British success by the engineering firm YASA (founded following research at Oxford University) that has developed an axial-flux electric motor expected to be seen in production vehicles in c. one yearâs time. He contrasts the poor 2 miles per kWh from a new model Lotus Electra to an astonishing 9 miles for the Mercedes EQXX concept equipped with the YASA motor. Daimler-Benz thought YASA so good it bought the whole company.
He goes on to say that âThat car [EQXX] has completely changed my opinion of electric cars and where we are actually headingâ, noting it shows how efficient EVs can be when engineers are given a brief to achieve that end. He says âits ability to go miles on a little bit of electricity was astonishingâ.
(*) recent Harryâs garage YT âCar of the Year 2023â video (for c. 2 minutes from 13.06 minutes in).
January 10, 2024
I’m sure “Joe Public” can afford a prototype Mercedes- equivalent!
And it doesn’t fix the charging issue for (at least) 50% of people.
January 13, 2024
JCB is also investing ÂŁ100 million in its hydrogen engine project and has fitted two Mercedes Benz vans with hydrogen engines.
The point is that all these technologies are immature and Governments are very bad at picking winners. Governments compelled us all to fit flourescent light bulbs and throw away filament bulbs only to find a year or so later that LEDs were far superior and would not have needed government mandates for their adoption had we not been forced to adopt flourescent lamps. By all means encourage commercial investment in new technologies but leave the choice to commercial enterprise in a free competitive market.
January 9, 2024
Oh, what a warped system the UK has no one is responsible although many get a large amount of taxpayer funding to do exactly that â be responsible and accountable.
From the PO FAQâs
âHave any cases prosecuted by bodies other than Post Office been appealed?
Yes. In addition to the appeals in which Post Office was the prosecutor, there have been six appeals to date in which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was the Respondent, not Post Office. One of these was conceded and the conviction overturned and five were opposed, with the safety of the convictions upheld by the Court of Appeal in two cases and the appeals abandoned in the remaining three.â
âAnd⊠the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who have prosecuted cases themselves as well as, since 2012, on behalf of the DWPâ
From Guido â âKeir Starmer is also facing questions on why he didnât intervene when he headed up the Crown Prosecution Service from 2008-2013.â
âFujitsu could pay compensation for Post Office scandal, minister suggests? âObviously a tardy ill-thought-out bit of Software. My question though, is did Fujitsu, take anyone to Court, or Prosecute anyone. Or was it those that where paid vast amounts to manage, ensure due diligence take responsibility and paid to be accountable â that just thought it was a free ride they were on and we are friends of friends so that not what we do?
January 9, 2024
Just watch new interesting facts on increase in charging points
January 9, 2024
Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary
âGround-breaking new EU rules come into effect today introducing a minimum rate of effective taxation of 15% for multinational companies active in EU Member States.â
Minimum corporation tax rates in the EU versus the United Kingdom
EU : 15% – UK : 25%
January 9, 2024
What is the rate in NI
January 9, 2024
I only know of one person with an electric vehicle, and their verdict is “won’t be buying one ever again”
Seemingly endless problems after computer update and endless problems if there is a cold snap.
This of course could just be a duff vehicle and not indicative of inherent fault in all electric cars.
I asked what the mileage range was, (I can’t remember the figure) and was told that this isn’t the mileage you get as much of the power is used on other elements, particularly when it’s cold. Again this could be a duff car all round.
I only know of one person who is the proud owner of a save the planet heat pump. That is relatively new, but conked out just before Christmas and so it seems it’s not easy to find its fault (or are engineers just not fully trained yet?)
It turns out this person has friends who have installed heat pump system, and believe it or not a couple of those also developed similar faults.
Dodgy hardware, under qualified installers/engineers, or just a case of the technology not being up there yet?
January 9, 2024
If I get pulled over by the police for speeding I expect to see a certificated calibrated radar data, operated by a trained and competent operator
When our Tory government is forcing me to accept and buy an EV to save the planet from temperatures rising above 1.5 degree I expect to see peer reviewed scientific data from multiply sources, with data sourced from common ground based certified & calibrated equipment
When the BBC claims today that the global temperature has increase by 1.48 degree, the hottest on record, (and the world still hasnât been destroyed) I expect a fully researched and balanced account of the reports from the European Union climate service â no, they even state that its human-caused (they canât even bring themselves to even say âman-madeâ)
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT EVâs WILL SAVE THE PLANET
January 9, 2024
In the 3rd para of the EU report youâll see
ââ European temperature highlights:
2023 was the second-warmest year for Europe, at 1.02°C above the 1991-2020 average, 0.17°C cooler than 2020, the warmest year on recordââ
Strange that the BBC didnât highlight that bit !
https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-2023-hottest-year-record
January 9, 2024
Considerable evidence they will make things worse in fact. Damn cost in Cambridge yesterday and even in heated urban London today.
January 10, 2024
How did they calculate a global increase of 1.48C? (or 1.48F?).
Did they take readings at precisely the same time irrespective of time zones? At what level relative to sea level did they ‘use the thermometer’? Did they take the same number of readings above and below the Equator? To what accuracy was the instrument used 2degrees, 1 degree, 1/4 of a degree? – – it really matters over what needed to be hundreds of readings to average – was it both above and below the Equator? Did they avoid taking readings within x miles of a major town/city?
If all this wasn’t done any published result is a crock of s*it.
January 9, 2024
This government may force the wealthy to buy EVs with this draconian policy but what about the secondhand market for poorer people? Who in their right mind would buy an old electric vehicle when the cost of new batteries is 20k plus? I can see a future where scrap yards are full of EVs and most car manufacturers are bankrupt. How can this be good for the planet? How are people meant to get to work if they canât drive? My office would have been 2 hours each way on a bus. Factor in dropping the kids at nursery and school and it makes work unviable. Does the government want us all to stop working, particularly women? They havenât thought this policy through and the unfortunate thing is that they wonât even debate the problems they are introducing.
I didnât vote for any of this so what gives these people the right to impose their wrong think on everyone? All the current main political parties have to go before itâs too late.
January 10, 2024
+1
January 10, 2024
I agree that the lack of proper, objective and widespread debate is disturbing.
But your standard of living is not guaranteed and relying on imported goods and materials simply makes that situation worse.
January 9, 2024
How about people with no off road parking?
And people with shared drives not wide enough to accommodate two cars side by side?
No cars for many then?
What is the penalty for ruining so many livesâŠfor forcing people to live in the future the whole time?
Dreadful five year plans.
January 9, 2024
2/3s of the country live in a terrace house or flat and can’t charge from home ….it is illegal to drape a cable across a public path
January 10, 2024
destination charging?
January 9, 2024
and another thing…
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he is âbitterly disappointedâ after a Court of Appeal ruling gave the green light to a gas drilling project in his Surrey constituency. Exploration at the Dunsfold site, part of the South West Surrey constituency represented by Mr Hunt, has been the source of legal battle, with strong opposition from the local Conservative council.
Mr Hunt, as a backbench MP, condemned the Governmentâs decision to grant permission for gas drilling to start.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said: âI am bitterly disappointed to learn that the Court of Appeal has today refused permission for any further appeal against the UKOG planning consent for the Loxley gas well outside Dunsfold.
Not in my backyard, eh?
January 9, 2024
does abyone know if fracking is on/off this week ….tories are pathetic
January 9, 2024
WAKE UP PEOPLE. Electric Vehicles are a means of CONTROL and have been from day one, so forget the environment BS and remember as Donald J Trump has stated it is the GREEN NEW SCAM.
January 10, 2024
Part one highlights the lack of appropriate public charging and while part 2 is a circular reference adds some useful questions.
As an EV owner I completely agree the UK government has made inadequate planning and preparation to match their currently proposed future EV mandate.
Have you asked questions and gotten any answers to these issues?
But you cannot mandate human behaviour absolutely. 2023 research carried out by Motorpoint found that 42% of drivers wait until their fuel light comes on before putting fuel in their car, and a further 16% admitted trying to use up every mile of fuel before refilling â risking damage to their engine.
2021 research by Green Flag showed that over 70,000 drivers a month find themselves stranded, red-faced, after overestimating how much petrol they had left – that’s 840,000+ ICE vehicle drivers who should have had range anxiety.
Clearly, significant numbers of ICE motorists (surveyed and actual) don’t care enough about range and managing their fuel ..
The best practical solution would be adequate publicly accessible charging capabilities, so have you asked the government their plans (involving public and/or private funding and activities)?
Reply Plans do not refuel a car. There are not enough working accessible fast chargers.
January 10, 2024
@reply But have you asked them? After all this government has been full of commitments and plans with very little actual delivery.
Reply No i have not. It is largely a private sector task to roll out chargers and I doubt the UK govt can provide a reliable forecast if what they can achieve.
January 10, 2024
Isn’t it incumbent on the government (Parliament, ministers, civil service, House of Lords) to ensure circumstances merit and support such significant and wide ranging policy and laws? Do they even know what number and distribution of charging is needed?
January 10, 2024
Reply
Agree – our government should have nothing to do with the how, what or where we refuel our vehicles ….stop intervening
January 11, 2024
But no complaints about our government’s meddling in the middle east over oil on which your precious ICE cars depend?
January 10, 2024
But for most people who might require petrol, a refill is only a few miles away – availability almost guaranteed.
Conclusion – why suffer range anxiety? Just take note of the gauge and the low level light!
January 10, 2024
Those two “reports” are ridiculously thin, and the second one in particular is just one anecdote. Anecdotes from one random person should pretty much never drive public debate. Unfortunately our media, including the BBC, falls into this trap all the time. And unfortunately some MPs do as well, it seems. We have too many Oxford humanities graduates running this country.
January 10, 2024
It’s the Green Grift.
What’s missing from the discussion is insurance. There’s lots of evidence coming out that insurers are going to walk away from insuring EVs. Those airport fires cost a pretty penny.
Same thing for delivery drivers. I got a quote for ÂŁ1,000 moped, L-Plates, London to cover Deliveroo.
ÂŁ3,000 excess and ÂŁ8,500 a year. None of them are insured too
Reply Airport fires not confirmed as EVs
January 10, 2024
Thats because they’re registered as diesel/hybird …..and not EVs
January 10, 2024
An EV will always outperform an ICE in terms of instantaneous power and performance.
Fair enough, no good as they are, but I keep saying that there may be some technological development possibilities that may have been overlooked…
January 10, 2024
Does this mean we are better off buyng new petrol vehicles in the expectation of a dramatic increase in prices of used petrol cars in 2029 with a good 5 or more years useful life left in them? Of course the biggest risk to that is that our friendly Government, always at the service of the general population, will dramatically increase fuel duty and taxes to make petrol cars uneconomic at any price. The Government really is the biggest risk to the well being of the country. Indeed many studies, eg. ‘Why Nations Fail’ by Robinson and Acemoglu, have shown over millenia governments are always the reason for national decline and fall. No reason to expect UK to be an exception.
January 11, 2024
In which case wouldn’t you be better off buying a diesel car which is more able to operate from non-imported fuels,
Or, you could do what I’ve done and buy an electric vehicle which can be charged from any main supply plus install PV panels to generate the mains electricity supply independent of the grid and foreign fuel sources.