Labour’s ‘war on motorists’ leaves 1 in 4 families without a car – the highest rate in a decade
Official figures show a quarter of households in England had no access to a car or van last year, the highest proportion in a decade, prompting claims that Labour's transport policies are pricing families off the road. The National Travel Survey data show car access falling steadily since 2020, a trend critics attribute to rising motoring costs alongside measures such as 20mph zones, a new pay-per-mile levy for electric and hybrid vehicles, and planned increases to fuel duty and parking fines.
The proportion of carless households rose from 21% in 2020 to 22% in 2024 and 25% last year, with 44% of the lowest income households lacking car access compared with 17% of the highest earners. Cars and vans still dominate travel, accounting for 76% of miles and 58% of trips, but average car journeys fell compared with 2024, while walking, cycling and public transport use stayed broadly flat. Conservative and Reform UK politicians accused the government of waging a "war on motorists", while councils have also raised parking charges and introduced low emission and congestion zones.
- Quarter of English households had no car access last year, a ten-year high.
- Rise linked to costs, 20mph zones, new pay-per-mile levy and fuel duty plans.
- Poorer households far more likely to lack car access than wealthier ones.
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Labour’s "war on motorists" refers to a set of transport policies pursued since the party took office, including 20mph speed limits, a new charge for electric and hybrid vehicle drivers based on miles travelled, and planned rises in fuel duty and parking fines. Critics, mainly from the Conservatives and Reform UK, argue these measures make driving more expensive and are pushing people out of car ownership altogether.
The story centres on new government data from the National Travel Survey, which tracks how people in England get around. It shows that the share of households without a car or van has been rising since 2020 and reached its highest level in ten years last year, with poorer households far more likely to be without a car than wealthier ones.
This matters because cars remain the main way people travel in England, and losing access to one can make it harder to get to work, shops or appointments, particularly for those on lower incomes. The figures have become a point of political dispute, with opposition politicians blaming government policy for the trend, while local councils have separately introduced their own charges, such as higher parking fees and low-emission zones, in various parts of the country.
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The case for
Those raising the alarm argue that ordinary families, especially outside big cities with poor public transport, are being priced off the road by a stack of costs landing at once: rising fuel and insurance costs, new pay-per-mile charging for electric and hybrid vehicles, higher parking fines, and blanket 20mph zones that they see as slowing journeys without proportionate safety gains everywhere they're applied. They contend that mobility is essential to work, caring responsibilities and opportunity, so policies that make car ownership harder fall hardest on lower-income and rural households who have the least ability to absorb the cost or switch to alternatives.
The case against
Supporters of these measures argue that reducing car dependency and costs is a deliberate and necessary response to congestion, air pollution and road danger, particularly in urban areas, and that 20mph zones and low emission or congestion charges save lives and improve health outcomes for residents, including children and pedestrians. They point out that car and van travel still dominates journeys and mileage, that a pay-per-mile levy on electric and hybrid vehicles is a fair way to replace lost fuel duty revenue as the vehicle fleet changes, and that investment implied by such policies should ultimately fund better public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure that benefits those who cannot afford a car at all.