Transport Secretary called threat to UK car plants "maddening"
And is Wales’s Dragon charging network breaching language legislation?
Hello, I’m Tom Riley, and welcome back to The Fast Charge, a British EV newsletter.
Top story today… Everything you need to know about Lou Haigh’s resignation, a quick review of our new Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, plus her likely views on the EV debate.
Elsewhere… Is Dragon Charging Network in breach of the Welsh Language Act, Jaguar’s recent rebrand, and big moves at major carmakers.
As ever, if you have any thoughts, please do get in touch via my contact details below or simply reply to this email.
The Transport Secretary resigns! Long live the Transport Secretary!
Context: Last Thursday evening, a story emerged about Louise Haigh MP suggesting she’d committed fraud. Her crime was that a company phone (belonging to her then employer Aviva) had switched on after she’d previously reported it stolen to police in 2013 - after she was mugged. Haigh claimed it was a genuine mistake and had not thought to tell her employer quickly enough after discovering the phone wasn’t stolen. All this was disclosed to Kier Starmer in 2020 when joining the shadow cabinet.
Innocent mistake? I’ve not always given Lou an easy time in this newsletter, but at only 37 she’s achieved a lot. I’m on the cusp of 30 and still only seem to have odd socks on. And her crime itself seems extremely minor to me.
So, why has she gone? As I’ve reported before, No10 was already unhappy with her performance, and it was open knowledge in Whitehall circles that they planned to move her early next year. I would have been unsurprised if she hadn’t known, especially as her replacement, Heidi Alexander MP, had already been lined up by No10.
And then… Boom, over two weeks we saw the carmakers go gangbusters calling for a review of the ZEV mandate. It’s my view that this caused the speed of her exit to increase.
Why? Many companies employ political obsessives like me. We’re little Westminster truffle pigs who thrive on snuffling out gossip in SW1’s dingy pubs. If the carmakers learned Haigh was unpopular - and I really cannot underline how much this was common knowledge - one thought is they might have decided to seize on that weakness. I certainly would but that’s purely speculation.
Another factor… I know I’ve teased before about Lou disliking cars, and I don’t think it’s true. I’m sure she doesn’t really care. But I think that was the problem as the media briefings from the likes of Nissan, Stellantis, and Ford landed. She failed to grip the scale and strength of feeling. This is why Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, has been parachuted in from his department to front foot a lot of stakeholder meetings, media responses, and last week’s ministerial statement - where he confirmed there would be a fast-tracked ZEV mandate consultation.
The death blow… My understanding is that No10 was likely behind her push and that their decision to accelerate her exit caught many off-guard. Including, it appears, Haigh herself who, amusingly, was on a train back from Leeds with poor phone signal when the story broke (big Thick of It vibes).
But why now? In many ways, it’s worked out ideally for No10. They wanted to get rid of Haigh, and perhaps leaving it too long would open up wider questions on Starmer’s own Cabinet grip, detract from his ‘story’, and lead to people thinking they’ll be a wider reshuffle - when they only wanted to get rid of her. Likewise, given they had confirmed an imminent ZEV mandate consultation, surely it works better to have Heidi in post leading it from the front. In short, a lot of reasons for them to click the ‘send to the back(benches)’ button.
Will she be back? I think so. Notably, both Haigh’s resignation letter and Starmer’s response were extremely amicable.
Enter… Heidi Alexander MP
Quick bio… Heidi has been the MP for South Swindon since Summer, having originally grown up there. She has been involved in politics for most of her life. A large part of that was in London where she’s been a councillor and MP for Lewisham between 2004 to 2018. She then became the capital’s Deputy Mayor for Transport, a difficult brief that occurred during Covid-19.
And… Unlike her predecessor, Heidi seems a lot more interested in cars. On her website, she proudly boasts of learning to drive on Swindon’s “magic roundabout”. Based on recent images online, she also seems to be the owner of a Mini Cooper convertible in green. Who doesn’t like a Mini? I did cheekily ask the Department for Transport if they expected her next car to be electric, and they ignored my question…
However… there was a question I asked DfT that they did feel the need to respond to me on. It relates to Heidi’s history in Swindon…
For those unfamiliar… Swindon was previously home to Honda’s UK factory base, but it was closed in 2021. This resulted in over 3,000 job losses and serious economic repercussions for her constituency. To me, I cannot see how that event will not shape her thinking. And indeed, there is evidence to suggest it might.
Heidi has for a long time been pro-EU trade. In fact, she was Co-Chair of the Labour Campaign for the Single Market. Heidi ran this during the time of the endless Brexit negotiations. A lot of the campaign was about championing open trade with the EU and making it as frictionless as possible. She’s also been a supporter of the campaign group Open Britain.
Why relevant? Last year, when Stellantis was talking about closing their site at Ellesmere Port, Heidi called on the government to support UK car plants. She warned otherwise they would go the same way as Honda in Swindon. She tweeted saying it was “maddening”. Her tweet linked to a BBC story that suggested Stellantis’s main complaint at the time was the risk of potential trade tariffs. However, the carmaker also warned that if the cost of EV manufacturing in the UK "becomes uncompetitive and unsustainable, operations will close".
I asked DfT for a comment… They told me it would be inappropriate for them to do so as this tweet was posted before Heidi became their Secretary of State. Likewise, they said it wasn’t in their policy remit.
Another area likely to influence Heidi’s views? It will perhaps be her time as London’s Deputy Mayor. During her tenure she dealt with endless strikes… the Hammersmith Bridge saga. But, crucially, she oversaw the implementation of the expanding Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) with Sadiq Khan. The latter has long been controversial but seems to have been successful. From all the above, one assumes she’ll understand the need for flexible approaches when introducing ‘green’ policies and how to navigate tricky stakeholders. All positive in my mind.
What’s next? According to two sources, the ZEV mandate consultation should have already been published by now. Though perhaps it’s being held back (again) so Kier Starmer can deliver his “Plan for Change” on Thursday. We’ll see soon.
Is Wales’s taxpayer-backed EV network breaching language legislation?
Background: Last week, I revealed my findings having called up 55 charging networks across the UK to see if they were meeting new 24/7 availability rules, and generally what my experience was like.
In the week since… I’ve heard a lot on this topic. In good news, one network previously not meeting the rules (ElectRoads) is investing in a whole new service. I’ve also since learned that some networks rely on the same call centres. And this was the case when I called ScottishPower. The call software they use marked my number as spam - as I’d called many of their software’s other customers in quick succession - hence I was deprioritised. Thus, if unlike me you are a normal caller, you won’t have this issue.
However… One network that I’ve now deemed as not meeting the rules is Dragon in Wales.
Summary: I have called Dragon Charging’s advertised helpline several times out of hours since my first tests. Not once have I got through, nor have I ever had a promised ‘callback’ by the automated voicemail.
According to their map… Dragon Charging Network operates 325 chargers in Wales. These have been put in place thanks to partnerships with more than 10 public authorities based in Wales, including… Pembrokeshire County Council, Newport County Council, Pembrokeshire National Park Authority, Ceredigion County Council, Carmarthenshire County Council, Caerphilly County Council, Torfaen County Council, Monmouthshire County Council, Powys County Council, and Blaenau Gwent County Council, as well as the Ministry of Justice.
And they could be in trouble… When you call Dragon’s helpline, English is the default, and not once when trying to get through are you provided the option to speak Welsh. The only way is unless you do get through to someone is to ask. This is unlike other charging networks that operate in Wales, like PoGo.
In Wales… Their language and the ability for many of its residents to access and use it, especially in rural parts, is critical. So much so that the Welsh Language Act was established in 1993 setting the principle that Welsh and English should be treated equally in public service provision. Later, in 2011, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure reinforced this by granting Welsh official status and requiring public bodies to comply with specific Welsh Language Standards. These standards include having Welsh options on something like a helpline.
Hilariously… I called the Welsh Government’s “24/7” media service yesterday evening to seek a response or view, and in keeping with my experience with Dragon, I was left with hold music. I have previously contacted Dragon for a response to my experience and had no reply.
The people of Wales deserve better. I have therefore taken matters into my own hands and sent a note to the Welsh Language Commissioner, Efa Gruffudd Jones. She will hopefully review and then decide whether to take it forward with Dragon and/or the associated public bodies.
*As a quick update as this newsletter goes out… I have finally spoken to someone at Silverstone Green Energy (who operate Dragon), and it sounds like they are getting support to develop a 24/7 helpline so it complies, but acknowledged they are currently short-staffed. More to follow on this…
News elsewhere…
😐 A week after it was announced Luton’s Vauxhall car plant was closing, Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares got given the boot one year early by his board. More here.
🚍 He’s not the only senior carmaker executive to move in the past week… Volkswagen’s UK boss steps down… And Nissan’s Chief Finance Officer is gone too.
🚗 Meanwhile, Ford’s UK boss Ford's UK boss, Lisa Brankin, has called on the government to provide consumer incentives of up to £5,000 per car to boost demand. Read more.
😯 Jaguar’s big reveal… After a controversial brand relaunch, Jaguar has finally revealed the vehicle it plans to launch in 2026 as part of its new all-electric range. The tagline to Jaguar’s marketing has been ‘copy nothing’, though the vehicle presented does look a little like Lady Penelope’s car from the Thunderbirds film. I look forward to seeing what the final model looks like.
⚡️ The government is looking at offering residents free electricity for having new pylons built in their backyard. It’s part of a package of community benefits being considered by Ed Miliband. More here.