Wales’s Labour government is accused of ‘hypocrisy’ as it is revealed half its fleet of chauffeur-driven cars use diesel

•  Data shows Welsh ministers are collectively driving average of 375 miles a day

Wales’s Labour government was accused of ‘hypocrisy’ yesterday as it emerged that nearly half its fleet of chauffeur-driven cars are diesel vehicles.

Data obtained by the Daily Mail also reveals that Welsh ministers are collectively driving an average of 375 miles a day in their gas-guzzling fleet.

It comes despite the Welsh Government, which is made up of 14 ministers, introducing a raft of ‘green’ motoring measures aimed at cleaning up the air but which have been branded ‘anti-motorist’.

These include blanket 20mph speed limits on roads that used to be 30mph and banning all new major road building projects.

Wales’s Labour executive is also considering road pricing for more polluting vehicles such as diesel models, which pump out more harmful pollutants.

Wales’s Labour government was accused of ‘hypocrisy’ yesterday as it emerged that nearly half its fleet of chauffeur-driven cars are diesel vehicles

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said last year that the Welsh government provided ‘a blueprint’ for what Labour could do across the UK

Data released after Freedom of Information requests reveals that five of the Welsh government’s 12-strong vehicle fleet are diesel.

A further four are petrol hybrids and three pure electrics.

Between April 2023 and September 30 this year, Welsh ministers were driven 67,533 miles by chauffeur – or 375 miles a day on average. In 2022/23 they covered 159,245 miles, an average of 436 miles daily. This was up from 75,390 the year before.

In its FOI response, the Welsh Government said it could not give a breakdown for how many trips in total the mileage represented because doing so ‘would involve locating, retrieving and extracting data from around 5,200 separate records.’ 

Welsh Secretary David TC Davies said of the figures: ‘It is absolutely extraordinary and hypocritical because on the one hand Labour is trying to make it impossible for ordinary people to use their cars, but on the other they’re more than happy to travel around in chauffeur-driven, diesel-guzzling limousines.’ 

Welsh Secretary David TC Davies said  that ‘Labour is trying to make it impossible for ordinary people to use their cars, but on the other they’re more than happy to travel around in chauffeur-driven, diesel-guzzling limousines’

Under Wales’s ministerial code, officials can use the government-owned fleet for any purpose.

This includes being picked up from home and taken to their office as long as they are ‘carrying ministerial papers’.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said last year that the Welsh government provided ‘a blueprint’ for what Labour could do across the UK.

A Welsh Government spokesman said: ‘The decarbonisation of the car fleet is ongoing, balanced by the need to avoid excessive cost to the taxpayer.

‘Seven diesel cars have already been replaced with three all-electric cars and four hybrid vehicles.

‘While ministers will always seek to take alternative means of transport where possible, it is sometimes necessary to travel by car to attend official government engagements.

‘In addition to security considerations, ministers will continue to work if travelling by car, including participating in virtual meetings and calls, which are often confidential in nature.’

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