Overview
- Party leader Kemi Badenoch set out a Plan for Drivers that would end blanket 20mph schemes and order reviews of existing zones with 30mph restored where lower limits are widely ignored.
- The package also keeps the 5p-per-litre fuel duty cut and would scrap the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars.
- The Conservatives say they would add up to 200,000 driving tests a year to clear the DVSA backlog, cutting long waits that have delayed young drivers from getting on the road and to work.
- The plan creates a national pothole taskforce backed by £100 million, citing an £18.6 billion repair backlog and promising specialist crews and a single reporting system for fixes.
- Labour dismissed the pledges as electioneering, while context from campaign materials and charities shows 20mph policies are now used by 62 of 153 English councils and have been linked by researchers to safety gains.