Polluters pay: the £1,000-a-year cost of parking a gas guzzler
H aving a high-polluting car doesn't just come with an environmental cost — you could end up paying seven times as much to park as someone driving an eco-friendly vehicle.
Some 49 councils across Britain base their parking rates on vehicle emissions, with huge surcharges on diesel cars, Money analysis shows. These usually apply to long-term resident parking permits, but are also now being applied to short-stay car parks.
This means that 13 per cent of the 371 councils across England, Wales and Scotland now charge drivers based on their emissions —and 14 of those 49 also impose additional charges on diesel vehicles.
The London Borough of Islington charges the highest-polluting vehicles, such as a diesel Mercedes-Benz G-Class emitting 255 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Bidders demand Thames Water granted immunity over environmental crimes
Lenders vying to take over Thames Water have demanded that the struggling company and its management be granted immunity from prosecution for serious environmental crimes as a condition of acquiring it, the Guardian can reveal. Creditors want the environment secretary, Steve Reed, to grant the water company extraordinary clemency from a series of strict rules covering everything from sewage spills to failure to upgrade its water treatment works. The demands, if successful, would render the Environment Agency (EA) largely powerless to take enforcement action against Britain's biggest water company for some of the most serious criminal breaches of its licences and permits. Thames Water has been a serial offender in recent years, paying tens of millions of pounds in fines and penalties, with multiple convictions for dumping raw sewage into rivers and streams and dozens more investigations under way. The fate of the heavily indebted utility was thrown into further doubt this week when the US private equity firm KKR quit an auction to buy it, citing concerns about politicisation and the poor state of its assets. That has left a disparate band of about 100 bondholders, who have collectively lent the company about £13bn, as the sole bidder. If the creditors' bid fails, Thames Water is likely to fall into state ownership via the special administration regime – a fate the Treasury is desperate to avoid. Sources described the creditors' list of demands as a 'ransom note' that underlined their powerful negotiating position as the 'last show in town'. Creditors argue that failure to secure leniency from fines and enforcement will mean Thames Water is caught in a 'doom loop' that prevents it from recovering and injecting enough money into its tired network. The company, which has 16 million customers in the London and Thames Valley regions and 8,000 employees, is labouring under about £20bn of debt and is running out of cash. The requests formed part of the creditors' turnaround plan that was put to the water regulator, Ofwat, in recent days. Among the proposals were that the EA stops enforcing personal liability for managers at Thames Water and does not pursue enforcement over the company's failure to deliver a huge number of infrastructure upgrades, known as the water industry national environment programme (Winep). The Guardian revealed in December that Thames Water intentionally diverted millions of pounds pledged for Winep environmental clean-ups towards bonuses and dividends, sparking an Ofwat investigation. Customers have already paid for those projects via their bills. Thames Water failed to deliver more than 100 of 812 Winep schemes it was due to between 2020 and 2025. Other creditor requests include not prosecuting Thames Water for sewage spills on dry days or for 'flow to full treatment' licence breaches – where the EA and Ofwat police how much wastewater its plants can treat at any time. They also want Thames Water to be exempt from prosecution for breaches of the industrial emissions directive, which governs pollution into rivers, streams, land and the atmosphere. To achieve these requests, the creditors want Reed to give a strategic decision statement ordering the EA to deprioritise enforcement. The Guardian revealed in March that Thames Water was demanding leniency for fines and penalties in order to attract bidders and stop cash they might inject from leaking out of the business. However, the extent of the creditor demands, and request for near-blanket immunity for serious environmental crimes, has surprised water industry insiders, who warned it could spark legal challenges from rivals or lead to more requests for special treatment. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Last month Ofwat fined the company£123m over sewage and dividend breaches. The regulator said its investigation had uncovered failings around Thames's handling of sewage and wastewater, which amounted to a 'significant breach' of its legal obligations. The EA is still pursuing parallel investigations into Thames Water over alleged failure to comply with environmental permits, and has powers to prosecute the company. Creditors are expected to write down a significant proportion of their debt in return for taking over the company. Time is running out to find a solution to keep it afloat as it burns through £3bn of high-interest rescue loans. A spokesperson for the creditors declined to comment on commercial discussions but confirmed their plan required 'regulatory support'. 'The creditors' proposal will fix the fundamentals, protect public health and prioritise improved customer and environmental outcomes,' they said. 'In addition to a detailed operational plan and billions in fresh investment proposed by the creditors, Thames Water requires a fundamental reset and regulatory support so that asset health and performance can be restored to the levels that customers and the environment deserve. 'The creditors are committed to working with the government and regulators to achieve that outcome as quickly as possible and expect Thames Water to be held to account to deliver a realistic but ambitious trajectory for the company's return to compliance.' A government spokesperson said: 'The company is stable and government is carefully monitoring the situation. We expect the company to continue to meet its obligations to both customers and the environment.' An Ofwat spokesperson said: 'Our focus is on ensuring that the company takes the right steps to deliver a turnaround in its operational performance and strengthen its financial resilience to the benefit of customers. We are assessing whether the [creditors'] plans are realistic, deliverable and will bring substantial benefits for customers and the environment.' Thames Water said: 'In order to be investable, we and prospective investors would need to engage in discussions with our regulators.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Unions pile pressure on Reeves to avoid cuts and impose wealth taxes
Labour 's biggest financial backers are piling pressure on Rachel Reeves to avoid making cuts at next week's spending review and instead pursue wealth taxes to fund Britain's public services. Polling commissioned by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) reveals a majority the public (54 per cent) back taxes on big corporations and the most wealthy individuals as an alternative means of raising revenue. Just 28 per cent oppose the move. TUC general secretary Paul Nowak urged the government to 'stay on track' and build on the 'positive start it made at last year's budget by providing sustained funding for our public services and infrastructure' - warning that people are 'fed up with a system where those with the broadest shoulders don't pull their weight.' It comes after deputy prime minister Angela Rayner pressed Ms Reeves to consider eight wealth taxes rather than try to impose cuts on departments. The civil war within the government over next Wednesday's spending review has seen hold outs from Ms Rayner's Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as well as Yvette Cooper's Home Office. The chancellor is expected to unveil a swathe of spending cuts as she attempts to walk the tightrope between delivering on the party's election promises while sticking within the bounds of her self-imposed fiscal rules. The TUC has also joined criticism of the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) over question marks on whether its flawed predictions are having a negative impact on spending plans. The OBR produces forecasts twice a year alongside the Autumn budget and spring statement, which are used by the government to make fiscal policy decisions. But Mr Nowak said it is now 'time to review the role of the OBR and its fiscal assumptions to give the UK greater flexibility to invest in our future', with the TUC arguing that short term changes in forecasts should not be driving long term government decision making. Mr Nowak said next week's spending review 'can be the next key step in the government's plan to rebuild Britain and deliver industrial renewal' as 'communities are still crying out for meaningful change after more than a decade of Tory austerity and neglect'. 'The global outlook is challenging, but leaving our decimated public services without sufficient investment would risk both future growth and public trust', he added. 'The message from voters is clear. They want the government to protect and rebuild our public services', he said. 'If that means asking the wealthiest to pay more, the public are behind it. People are fed up with a system where those with the broadest shoulders don't pull their weight.' The warning from the TUC - which represents 5.3 million people in 47 member unions - will pile pressure on Labour, a party which has historically been heavily dependent on the funding it receives from trade unions. In 2024, Labour declared £2.4m from union backers - significantly less than the £5m it declared from unions in 2019 after Unite refused to endorse the party's manifesto. The poll of more than 2,000 adults, conducted by Hold Sway, for the TUC shows there is widespread frustration at the current amount of tax paid by the wealthiest in Britain. Nearly 6 in 10 (59 per cent) think the wealthiest do not pay their fair share – including 74 per cent of Conservative to Labour switchers and 72 per cent of those strongly considering switching from Labour to Reform. More than half (56 per cent) think big businesses do not pay their fair share of tax, while just 31 per cent think they do. The polling showed that two thirds of (67 per cent) voters back an annual wealth tax for estates above £10m, including 88 per cent of Tory to Labour switchers; and 81 per cent of Labour voters now strongly considering Reform. Meanwhile, more than six in ten (63 per cent) back a windfall tax on banks – including 85 per cent of Tory to Labour switchers, and 78 per cent of those Labour voters now strongly considering Reform. Some 50 per cent back raising capital gains tax, including 75 per cent of Tory to Labour switchers, and 67 per cent of those Labour voters now strongly considering Reform. Just 26 per cent oppose a capital gains tax hike. The Hold Sway poll surveyed 2000 adults in Great Britain online between 30 May and 2 June.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Reform chairman REVERSES decision to quit party just 48 hours after resigning as he blames departure on ‘exhaustion'
REFORM UK chairman Zia Yusuf has reversed his move to quit the party just 48 hours after he dramatically resigned his post. The businessman had orchestrated much of Reform's recent success at local elections, but now says his sudden decision to quit on Thursday was due to "exhaustion". But despite previously saying he no longer believed that trying to get Nigel Farage elected PM was a "good use of my time", the businessman will now return to the party in a new role. This fresh position will see him head up a "UK DOGE team", inspired by Elon Musk's government "efficiency" department in the US. In a statement on X, Mr Yusuf said: "Over the last 24 hours I have received a huge number of lovely and heartfelt messages from people who have expressed their dismay at my resignation, urging me to reconsider. "After 11 months of working as a volunteer to build a political party from scratch, with barely a single day off, my tweet was a decision born of exhaustion." He added: "I know the mission is too important and I cannot let people down. "So, I will be continuing my work with Reform, my commitment redoubled." Mr Yusuf sensationally quit the party on Thursday, saying he did not believe getting Nigel Farage elected as PM was a "good use of my time". More to follow... For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun. 1
