New polling has shown that only a minority of the UK think the government should slow the transition to electric vehicles. 
 
The survey by charging industry association ChargeUK and conducted by YouGov, shows that whilst 37 per cent believe the move should be slowed, 34 per cent said that the pace is about right and 19 per cent that it should be sped up. 11 per cent said they did not know. 
 
For those who voted for Labour in the 2024 election, a fifth (21 per cent) supported a slowdown compared to around a quarter (27 per cent) who believe the transition should be sped up. The highest cohort of 2024 Labour voters, 41 per cent, said they feel the pace of transition is about right.

The only party whose voters support keeping pace or speeding up the transition in greater numbers than Labour is the Green Party, with 30 per cent and 46 per cent respectively. Meanwhile Liberal Democrat voters are not far behind with 68 per cent supporting a same pace or faster switch (25 per cent speed up and 39 pace about right). 
 
Slowing the EV transition could particularly harm the Labour government’s popularity with younger voters as age plays a significant factor in views on the pace of transition. Around a third (36 per cent) of 18 to 24 year olds support speeding up transport electrification, a figure which falls for successive age categories — 21 per cent for 25 to 49 year olds, 14 per cent for 50 to 64 year olds and 11 per cent for the 65 and overs. 
 
ChargeUK has been vocal in warning against further changes to the government’s flagship EV policy the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate (ZEV Mandate) which sets automakers’ EV sales quotas and provides the charging industry with the foreseeable demand which underpins infrastructure investment. 
 
The association recently published polling data from YouGov which showed that reducing public charging prices to below the cost of petrol could boost EV demand by 48 per cent. Meanwhile recent Department for Transport statistics show that eight per cent of UK adults already drive a battery electric vehicle.  
 
Jarrod Birch, head of policy and public affairs, ChargeUK said: “The British public is supportive of cleaner, cheaper driving – Labour voters especially. So, if Andy Burnham wants to deliver a voter-backed win for people’s pockets whilst reducing the country’s reliance on foreign oil, he need look no further than committing to an ironclad ZEV Mandate.
 
“Combined with action to address the policies unnecessarily pushing up the costs of public EV charging, this would ensure even more drivers can enjoy the significant savings from electric driving — on top of the nearly four and a half million EV drivers who are already reaping the benefits.”