Boris Johnson’s climate spokesman has criticized the infrastructure, which she says discourages people like her from switching to an electric car.
Allegra Stratton, the former press spokeswoman for the prime minister, announced that she was driving a “third-hand” Volkswagen Golf.
The reason for this, Stratton explained in an interview with Times Radio, was because she had to visit elderly relatives “200, 250 miles away,” and that stopping the vehicle to recharge would slow the journey, especially for two young children who otherwise could sleep while driving.
“I don’t like it yet,” said Stratton, who lives in north London, about the long travel times to visit her father in southern Scotland, her mother in Gloucestershire, her grandmother in north Wales. and her in-laws in the Lake District.
“These are all trips that I think would require at least a fairly long stop to recharge,” she said, adding that an electric car would be a more viable option for her if “the stop times to recharge are improved that much that it’s half ”. one hour”.
However, the AA pointed out that the average electric vehicle can travel more than 200 miles without the need to charge. The association’s president, Edmund King, told the Times, “Even with the infrequent journey of over 200 miles, the driver should take a break anyway for traffic safety, so why not combine it with a fast charge that takes just 20 minutes to complete to go from a quarter load to over 80%? “
Pointing out that electric vehicles for people who live in London are not subject to traffic jam or car tax, King added, “Now is the time to go electric.”
It’s not the first outspoken comment from Stratton to raise eyebrows at Westminster. Over the weekend, she said the UK’s goal of tackling the climate crisis by reducing carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 was “too far away”.
In the interview, Stratton also said that people have the right to take flights on vacation, despite the damage that aviation emissions are causing to the environment.
“It is not the job of this government to tell you how to choose your lifestyle,” she said. “You decide where you want to go on vacation. And you decide for yourself how you want to go on vacation. “
