More than half of drivers are under siege from schemes like ULEZ

More than half of drivers say they are under siege from road schemes like Sadiq Khan’s controversial ULEZ plan

• Just four in ten motorists feel they have a fair deal in driving and car ownership 
• Around 61 per cent agreed that UK drivers are attacked by the ULEZ charges  

More than half of drivers believe there is a ‘war on the motorist’ in Britain, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Just four in ten motorists feel they are being handed a fair deal by the Government when it comes to driving and car ownership, according to a poll for the Alliance of British Drivers (ABD).

Meanwhile, 61 per cent of respondents agreed that the UK’s 35 million drivers were under attack – mostly due to painful congestion and Ulez charges, extensive use of cameras to enforce speed limits, and other restrictions such as bus lanes.

Also among the concerns felt by motorists was the impending ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. The Daily Mail is campaigning for ministers to rethink the 2030 plans.

According to the survey, 59 per cent of people want the Government to either postpone the transition to more environmentally friendly cars or scrap it entirely.

Bob Bull, of the ABD, said: ‘If proof were needed, this poll shows that the British people believe that the authorities at every level are engaged in a war on the motorist.’

Around 61 per cent of respondents agreed that the UK’s 35 million drivers were under attack – mostly due to painful congestion and Ulez charges, extensive use of cameras to enforce speed limits, and other restrictions such as bus lanes

The poll results suggest a desire for government intervention, with respondents more in favour of saying that the Government should try to stop the controversial Ulez expansion plan in London – set to be enforced next month – than to leave the matter in the hands of the capital’s mayor, Sadiq Khan

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has urged councils to review ‘low traffic neighbourhoods’ (LTNs), many of which have proved unpopular

He added: ‘The official justification is often a woolly environmentalism, but we suspect that the real reason is that governments, councils and others regard the country’s 35million drivers as a cash cow to be fleeced of their money at every turn.

‘Take the ban on new petrol and diesel cars after 2030. This crazy measure is both impractical and far from green.

‘Impractical because electric cars are wildly expensive and because we don’t have the charging points or grid to cope with such a rapid upheaval.

‘Far from green because evidence mounts every day that making electric vehicles – especially their huge batteries – generates more carbon dioxide emissions than the manufacture of conventional vehicles.’ Older voters are the most likely to argue that there is a war on motorists, with 52 per cent of those over 55 believing that drivers are being targeted. But 44 per cent of 18-24-year-olds also agree with the statement.

The poll results suggest a desire for government intervention, with respondents more in favour of saying that the Government should try to stop the controversial Ulez expansion plan in London – set to be enforced next month – than to leave the matter in the hands of the capital’s mayor, Sadiq Khan.

The results come after Boris Johnson criticised the mayor’s persistence with his Ulez plan in his Daily Mail column on Saturday. Transport Secretary Mark Harper has urged councils to review ‘low traffic neighbourhoods’ (LTNs), many of which have proved unpopular. However, the poll indicated that respondents were still generally in favour of LTNs and 20mph speed limits.

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