Margaret Thatcher ‘wouldn’t have backed car ban’ with motor industry in ‘danger’

Margaret Thatcher would not have supported ‘foolish’ net zero policies including the Government’s petrol and diesel car ban, according to Tory Brexiteer Sir John Redwood. The MP for Wokingham claimed the former Prime Minister would have refused to agree to terms which would lead to further ‘imports’. Redwood warns this is likely to be the case when the Government stops manufacturers from selling new petrol and diesel cars from 2030. He feels the policy could simply leave motorists ‘queueing’ up to buy cars from abroad. The 72-year-old also warned the policy could ‘kill the motor industry’ in the UK in a major warning to Rishi Sunak and the cabinet. The policy would see car firms forced to only sell fully-electric models directly to consumers. Thatcher would not have backed eco policies, warns John Redwood (Image: Getty) When asked what Thatcher would have made of the green approach, Redwood told GB News : ‘She would have taken the scientific advice very seriously but she would not have adopted policies in Britain which singled us out for particular punishment but left the world with more CO2 as a result. ‘She would not have been a fan of any policy which banned things in Britain, leading to imports which would lead to more CO2 to get the goods into Britain.” He added: ‘I think they also need to review their work on the motor industry. We are in grave danger of killing our own motor industry. Then a lot of people after 2030 will be queuing up to buy nearly new imported petrol and diesel cars because they are not convinced about the electric versions.’ His remarks come a week after more than 40 Tory MPs wrote to the government to question the policy around petrol and diesel cars. Sir John Redwood has called out the Government’s car ban (Image: Getty) Top-level opposition to the scheme included former party leader Iain Duncan Smith and ex- Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg. A new poll of Tory members from Conservative Home found that 83 percent believed the Government was wrong to prevent the sale of combustion vehicles by the end of the decade. When asked if the policy should be temporarily axed, Redwood enthusiastically agreed. The Tory backbencher explained: ‘They should pause that policy as the European Union has done. The European Union is particularly enthusiastic about net-zero policies as we know. But they see it is going to kill the German motor industry. Rishi Sunak has stood by the petrol and diesel ban (Image: Getty) ‘The other thing they need to do urgently is to suspend the policy of taxing companies from next year if they don’t sell enough electric cars and sell too many petrol and diesel cars.’ The EU has given Germany permission to sell models that run on carbon-neutral synthetic fuels. It means combustion vehicles will still be sold in the country past the EU’s own 2035 petrol and diesel ban.