West Midlands mayor seeks softer electric-car targets
West Midlands Labour mayor Richard Parker urged the chancellor to relax Britain’s electric-vehicle sales mandate, the Financial Times reported. The policy requires 80% of new vehicles sold by the end of the decade to be fully electric. Parker said the target would harm carmakers and suppliers in a region heavily exposed to automotive manufacturing.
Why it matters
Pressure from a Labour mayor adds an industrial-policy challenge to the government’s timetable for shifting new-car sales to electric models.
Sources
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Part of the October 6, 2026 brief.