Are we scrapping policy for protest?

When moving to Brighton three years ago I hoped the political landscape of Green, Labour and Conservative would bear insightful and progressive conversation. The reality has been a mixture of ideological entrenchment and partisan positioning.

The Green party and Caroline Lucas - their only Member of Parliament (MP) - are formidable in Brighton and Hove. This local influence and national recognition has not only sustained their only MP throughout many swing elections but locally, the Green's spent 2011-2015 in minority control of Brighton and Hove council. As the voice of the green sector, their contribution is vital to political discourse.

I (like most) share many values with the Green party but all too often we differ on the approach to sustainable delivery. In this piece I wanted to explore their ardent support of the diesel scrappage scheme and comment on why deeper policy thinking should always come before protest.

The background and consequences of 2009

The 2009 UK vehicle scrappage scheme created a major headache for many of our less affluent communities and in the space of nine months the average price of a used vehicle rose by £1480 (about the price less affluent people would pay for a second hand car).

The majority of scrapped cars were small economical models - for example, Fiesta's and Corsa's - causing the supply of these cheap to run and maintain cars to dry up.

Necessity forced many motorists to purchase larger less economical petrol vehicles as an affordable alternative. And with larger vehicles came increased insurance premiums and vehicle excise duty (road tax) as well as eye-watering maintenance costs. 

Diesel cars, due to their higher miles per gallon (MPG) and reputation for quality, rose in desirability and price. This was reflected in new (and used) car sales as a disproportionate number of larger executive and diesel models were bought as replacements; another blow for our environment.

The introduction of modern vehicles also started a chain of events in the automotive industry that saw garages close, skilled workers lose their jobs and parts manufacturers (a British industry staple) close well before they had time to modernise.
With 90% of the current automotive component sector being small and medium enterprises (SMEs), it was no surprise that by 2011, more than 1500 fewer apprentices began careers in vehicle maintenance and repair. There was also a drop - then stagnation - of vehicle fitting learners, though industry did see a small increase in vehicle sales apprentices.

Despite no established Plug-in Elective Vehicle (PEV) industry, infrastructure or affordable price point, giveaways for PEVs were delivered by way of a £5000 plug-in car grant, with further funding streams for strategy absent charging points. What resulted was an increase in hybrid engine investment - as it came with the same vehicle excise duty (VED) saving as PEV - and investment in PEV heading abroad. This was because typically, Tier 1 contractors - the car manufacturing companies - locate their research and development facilities in their countries of origin.

In 2017, eight years on, PEV only contributes 1.7% of the UK's new car registrations.

Chancellor Darling did point out that the majority of benefactors would be foreign car makers and so matched funding was needed to operate the scheme. Yet this did not deter the price point setting, optional extra offering car manufactures, who found new ways to absorb costs.
Despite the now obvious flaws set against the backdrop of a continued financial crash, this abject approach to policy rolled on, with an extension of funds bringing the total cost of the scrappage scheme to £400m.

Assessing the landscape

And here we are again, this time in 2017 where the electric car is a reality and clearer air is long overdue. Yet rather than rushing into the meadows with euphoric ‘save the planet’ glee we should pause, and decide how best we should spend the hundreds of millions of pounds which may be given away.

An assessment of the supporting industries - batteries, design, manufacturing, component, skills, etc – is a primary requirement. 

Is there a British company able to build the whole car? With the city car becoming a reality, could we stimulate cleaner shorter journeys across regions and cities?
Will investment in this field progress design in other technology, for example, electric trains? Is this something for our future trading partners?

How will we make sure that the manufacture and design of the modern vehicle fits with our developing training curriculum? How do we make sure that businesses such as independent garages have the opportunity to modernise? Should hybrid remain supported and if so, how? Should supporting hybrid mean supporting an industry for battery upgrades on existing vehicles?

The electric vehicle - and the vision attached to its definite future – shouldn’t be limited to value for motorists and vehicle manufacturers. We must recognise the impact this change in development can and will have on society and innovation. 

Can our ambitions complement infrastructure funding to provide ‘toll free for electric vehicle’ roads? Is PEV the solution to building through and on the greenbelt? Can we tackle heavy good vehicles, the heaviest polluters? What about vans which run all day? Will supporting smaller engines such as motorbikes deliver new opportunities? Is this an answer to connecting up our regions that typically fall within existing PEV ranges?
Will renewable's play a part in the delivery of charging infrastructure? If so, how do we transfer that to our homes and living standards?

Delivering a scrappage scheme for a quick win will be one of the greatest missed opportunities of this decade. With the government silent we can only hope they are giving this issue serious consideration.

In the short term I would encourage Green party members and voters to make themselves the party of policy and not protest. You can shape the green agenda and not just the green conversation, and in many ways we need you to.

Through government incentives, tax payers will always see their contributions used to advance innovation but we must make sure policy actually delivers social benefit. No amount of 'protest policy' or 'meme sized slogans' will really deliver sustainable change, we need policy in practice, not failed ideas maintained by the moral high ground.