The Green Party wants to reduce the speed limit on Britain’s motorways to just 55mph under Zack Polanski’s plans to wage a ‘war on motorists’.
Taxes on driving would be ‘increased incrementally’ while parking spaces would be ‘steadily reduced’ in a bid to drive people from the roads, newly unearthed proposals show.
The policies seen by the Daily Mail also state that motorists would be forced to re-take their driving test as often as every five years as ‘car driving is not a right but a privilege’.
And the speed limit on motorways and dual carriageways would be reduced by 15mph and controversial Welsh-style 20mph limits would be imposed in all built up areas under the plans.
The Conservatives have accused Mr Polanski of pursuing a ‘war on drivers’ and said the Green leader wants to ‘make driving slower, more expensive and, in many cases, impossible’.
However the Greens have stood by the policies – arguing their ‘evidence-based measures’ would reduce road traffic accidents and save drivers money on fuel.
The official Green Party transport policy says: ‘On major roads outside of built up areas, the maximum speed limit allowed would be 55mph, to maximise the efficiency of fuel use as well as improving safety.’
Mr Polanski’s party would pursue a deliberate policy of travel ‘demand management’ if they were in government, with the primary objective being to reduce ‘speeds and volume of motorised traffic’.
As part of this, the policy adds: ‘Road fuel tax is an important factor in encouraging users to be more mileage conscious and to opt for smaller, more fuel efficient cars. The Green Party would increase road fuel tax incrementally.’
Driving tests would also be made ‘more comprehensive and stricter’ and they ‘would be done at regular intervals (e.g. 5 years) to ensure that drivers remain competent’, it states.
And Mr Polanski plans to ‘steadily reduce’ the amount of parking available and make people pay to park outside their own homes as ‘car parking is not a right that any driver has on the road’.
The policy says: ‘The Green Party would amend and enforce planning rules to steadily reduce car parking requirements.’
Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden accused Mr Polanski of being ‘out of touch’ with the public and said the plans would be a ‘Green light for madness’.
How would a 55mph motorway speed limit change your daily life and the future of driving in Britain?
He said: ‘This will drive up costs for working families and bring the country to a standstill. It is completely out of touch with how people live.
‘Only the Conservatives will stand up for drivers, protect your freedom to move, and keep Britain moving.’
It comes after the Mail revealed that illegal migrants would be given a free house and paid a wage with no requirement to work under the Greens plans for ‘a world without borders’.
Mr Polanski’s party also plans to legalise all drugs including heroin and crack cocaine because they ‘enhance human relationships and human creativity’.
And Britain’s armed forces would see drastic cuts and the nuclear deterrent would be scrapped under the Green’s official ‘non-offensive defence strategy’.
Former Green Party leader Baroness Natalie Bennett said: ‘Green Party transport policy is focused on making public transport reliable, available, affordable and high quality.
‘Evidence shows that many people would choose public transport if it were more convenient and better value. Alongside this, Greens support evidence-based measures to reduce road traffic accidents and improve fuel efficiency, helping to cut costs for motorists.’
