NEWS that sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will be phased out by 2030 has been welcomed by a South Lakes MP.

The move brings the ban on new conventional cars and vans forward by a decade, from a planned date of 2040, though the sale of some hybrid vehicles will be allowed until 2035.

Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, said: “The Government’s pledge to ban diesel and petrol cars by 2030 is a welcome step forward in the fight to tackle catastrophic climate change.

“However, the details on how they plan to achieve this remain very sketchy.

“It’s important that the Government not only gives local councils the funding needed to install charging points on a mass scale but also provides much stronger financial incentives so that people can actually afford to buy a new car.”

It aims to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles to cut climate emissions and local air pollution, as part of the 10-point plan to boost jobs and drive the shift towards cutting emissions to net zero by 2050.

The Prime Minister outlined new investment of £1.3 billion to accelerate the rollout of charge points in homes, streets, and on motorways, to make electric vehicles easier to charge up, and £582million in grants for those buying zero or ultra-low emission vehicles to help reduce the costs.

Nearly £500 million will be spent in the next four years for the development and mass-scale production of electric vehicle batteries, helping to boost manufacturing bases including in the Midlands and North East, he said.

The Government will also launch a consultation on the phase out of new diesel HGVs to clean up freight transport, though no date has been set.

Elsewhere in the 10-point plan, there are moves to have the UK's first town entirely heated by hydrogen by the end of the decade, a renewed push on nuclear power and support for restoring nature and for walking and cycling.

Mr Johnson, who has already highlighted plans to power every home in the country by offshore wind within 10 years as part of his vision, said the moves would support up to 250,000 jobs.

He will meet with businesses on Wednesday to set out planned regulatory changes and discuss their contributions.

The Government also said new investment formed part of £12 billion mobilised for the plan, though Labour said only £4 billion of the funding was new and called for a much bigger investment in a green recovery.

The UK has legal a target to cut greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050, requiring huge cuts to emissions and any remaining pollution from hard-to-treat sectors such as aviation "offset" by measures such as planting trees.