Keir Starmer has said the government will stick by plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars – but announced rules will be eased around hybrids.
It came as the PM warned Donald Trump’s tariffs will have a “profound” impact on the global economy as markets tumbled across the world. In a major speech, the PM said “nobody is pretending tariffs are good news,” but promised the government will “fight for the best deal” with the US. He said the UK had to “rise together as a nation” in response.
Speaking at Jaguar Land Rover, Mr Starmer said he would back the car industry, hit by massive tariffs on goods to the US, to the “hilt” The PM pledged to support firms and workers in a new era of “global instability” as billions were wiped off the FTSE 100 on Monday morning.
The PM stood by the 2030 deadline to ban sales of petrol and diesel vehicles after the Tory government pushed it back to 2035.
But he announced hybrid cars, which use either a petrol or diesel engine with an electric battery, such as the Toyota Prius and Nissan e-Power, will be allowed to be sold until 2035 to give the industry more time to prepare.
Mr Starmer said:”These are challenging times, but we have chosen to come here because we are going to back you to the hilt.”
He added: “This is a moment for cool heads, nobody wins from a trade war, you know that. But it’s also a moment for urgency, because we’ve got to rise together as a nation to the great challenge of our age – and it is the great challenge – which is to renew Britain so we’re secure in this era of global instability.”
His address came as the US President ignored concerns over a global trade war, warning countries not to be “weak” or “stupid” in a defiant post on his Truth Social platform.
Over the weekend he also shrugged off global turmoil and compared his tariffs to “medicine”. Speaking onboard Air Force One, he said: “I don’t want anything to go down. But sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”
* This is a breaking news story. Follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News , Twitter , Facebook or visit The Mirror homepage.
We’ll be bringing you the latest updates on this Breaking Politics News story.
Please check back regularly for updates on this developing story HERE. Get email updates on the day’s biggest stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletters .
Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you by following The Mirror every time you see our name.
-
Join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community – CLICK HERE
-
Follow The Mirror on Google News – CLICK HERE and click the star
-
Follow The Mirror on Apple News – CLICK HERE available on Apple devices
-
Follow The Mirror on Flipboard – CLICK HERE and click follow
You can sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news here @MirrorBreaking_ and follow us https://twitter.com/MirrorPolitics for all the latest updates.
Keep up-to-date with your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MirrorPolitics/ . See all our social accounts you can follow here: mirror.co.uk/social