Update: Government is NOT bringing forward mandate review
Government rebuts own Minister on ZEV mandate
Hi all,
I’ve been writing this newsletter for nearly five years, and this is the first time I’ve felt obligated to update you ASAP about a story in my newsletter.
In short, as many of you will have read in my email earlier today, I initially reported on a Financial Times interview with the Minister for Industry, Chris McDonald, which suggested the existing ZEV mandate review was being brought forward in response to the EU’s changes.
It has taken that story being up for 12 hours for the UK government to rebut it as being wrong. I have in the last hour received the following statement:
A Government spokesperson said: “We have not brought forward the ZEV Mandate review. As previously committed, we will publish the review in early 2027 which means preparatory work will begin next year so stakeholders can be properly engaged.
“Zero-emission vehicles are good for family finances and good for the environment – saving typical drivers as much as £1,500 a year on fuel. The transition to EVs is crucial to delivering jobs and growth, improved air quality, energy security, as well as quieter cleaner towns and cities.”
I have updated my own story from earlier to reflect the above.
I sadly do not know whether the Minister wrongly gave the FT the impression that the review was going to be brought forward or not, and I did ask the Department for Transport if they knew what the Industry Minister had said. Though I’m not sure they knew either.
It really does blow my mind that the communications in response to that article could be so slow and disjointed.
When I was in government comms in the run-up to Brexit, the moment there was any false story circulating online, you had to jump all over it with tweets, statements and facts. There was a team in the Cabinet Office that sat in front of about six screens tracking all the main outlets and journalists - known as the Rapid Rebuttal Unit. It was very effective at preventing panic from spreading.
The miscommunication of today really makes me believe that a government funded anti-myth campaign around EVs is essential.
Hopefully, the next time you’ll hear from me, the story will be less confusing. Apologies if it was so today. At least the end result is, everything is fine (for now)!
Have a good evening! Tom