How green is the government’s car service?

The government’s green credentials are in the firing line – and not for the first time. In office, Keir Starmer has sparked headlines with seemingly endless plane trips abroad. And now Mr S has done some digging to find out what ministerial cars are being used to ferry our leaders around. A Freedom of Information request on the Government Car Service reveals that the Department for Transport invoiced more than £1.3 million to government departments making use of ministerial motors over Labour’s first three months in power. But Mr S is a little sceptical about Whitehall’s commitment to its electric vehicle ‘revolution’ – not least because the bulk of its fleet still runs at least partially on petrol, with a rather high number of gas-guzzlers and carbon-emitters still very much in use. Rules for thee but not for me?

Of the 124 cars in service as of November, a staggering 70 per cent were not yet fully electric – despite the Labour manifesto calling on Brits across the country to ditch their petrol engines by 2030.