Labour's new war on motorists revealed: Cash-strapped councils could be allowed to double parking ticket charges to £160 in 'greedy' move which would 'fleece' drivers already hit by sky-high pump prices

Published: 00:07, 4 May 2026 | Updated: 00:25, 4 May 2026 Parking tickets could more than double under 'crazy' proposals being considered by Labour. Ministers have admitted they are 'looking into' and 'carefully considering' the findings of a trial in which a council was allowed to hike parking tickets to an eye-watering £160. At present, tickets issued by councils outside London are capped at £70. But it can be revealed that ministers believe this upper limit may no longer be acting as a deterrent to rogue parkers and are reviewing 'the effectiveness of current PCN (Penalty Charge Notices) levels in England outside London'. Disclosure of the potential raid threatens to alienate millions of hard-pressed drivers ahead of this week's local elections, with Labour already facing a bloodbath. Motorists are already reeling from sky-high pump prices sparked by the Iran war, which have collectively cost them £2billion. A hike to £160 is backed by cash-strapped councils and the parking industry, which have launched an aggressive lobbying campaign to strong-arm MPs and ministers into backing raising the cap. Supporters point out it has not been raised since 2008. But hiking it this high would bring non-London councils into line with those in the capital - a level critics say drivers elsewhere can ill-afford - and would see them treated more harshly than shoplifters. At present, tickets issued by councils outside London are capped at £70 but this could be hiked to £160 under proposals being considered by Labour  Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden told the Daily Mail that Labour was trying to 'fleece' drivers when they could least afford it  AA president Edmund King said it was 'crazy' to think about hiking parking ticket charges ad accused councils of using drivers as cash cows to plug budget shortfalls  The Tories last night accused Labour and the Liberal Democrats, who run the council in Bournemouth where the one-month trial took place, of declaring war on drivers and plotting to 'fleece' them at a time when they can least afford it. Labour has also stoked anger by refusing to ditch its planned 5p a litre fuel duty hike, which kicks in from this September, despite repeated calls to do so after pump prices rocketed because of the Iran war.  Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden told the Daily Mail: 'A one-month trial in one seaside town, designed and run by a Liberal Democrat council, is apparently enough evidence for this Government to consider doubling parking fines for drivers across England. 'This is entirely about raising revenue and raiding drivers. 'Drivers deserve better than being picked clean on the basis of four weeks in Bournemouth. 'Conservatives will always stand up for drivers. Labour and the Liberal Democrats will always find a new way to fleece them.' Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said: 'Why do Labour hate drivers so much? This is yet another tax on working Britain. 'Reform would reverse any assault on drivers.' AA President Edmund King said: 'Sentencing Council guidelines direct that someone who steals up to £200 of goods from a shop or causes up to £300 of criminal damage receives a £90 fine. 'At what point did a driver on the school run who parks badly or an elderly person who misunderstands convoluted parking rules deserve a worse punishment than a shoplifter or vandal? Now, we have a crazy situation. Transport minister Simon Lightwood said the Government is 'looking into' and 'carefully considering' a report which urges ministers to hike parking ticket charges to up to £160 Howard Cox (front, centre), founder of the FairFuelUK campaign, said drivers were 'fuming that parking enforcement is being pursued more aggressively than the national epidemic of shoplifting'  'The problem is that councils, in their effort to fill their financial black holes, have been hiking parking charges to such an extent that it is they who have eroded the deterrence value of current parking fines.' Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuel UK campaign, said: 'UK drivers, and of course Thursday's local voters, are fuming that parking enforcement is being pursued more aggressively than the national epidemic of shoplifting. 'Local authorities see motorists as a bottomless pit of easy cash to cover their incompetence in managing council budgets. 'Lifting the Penalty Charge parking cap is pure greed and will affect those on low incomes the hardest.' Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council carried out its trial in August last year along a seven-mile coastal stretch from Sandbanks to Hengistbury Head, involving 29 car parks and 543 roads. It claimed it 'made roads safer, reduced congestion and improved accessibility' in the popular tourist hotspot, adding: 'Overall, the trial demonstrated that higher PCN levels can effectively improve compliance.' During the trial, the council issued higher tariff PCNs of £160 and £110 for lower offences to more than 4,000 motorists over three weekends. The fines were halved if paid within a fortnight. This was more than twice the standard PCN amount of £70 and £50, respectively, under the current cap. BCP Council has since shared the results with the Department for Transport in a report in March and is urging ministers to roll out the trial measures permanently for councils across England. It calls for the cap on the most serious parking 'offences' to be raised from £70 to £160 and from £50 to £110 for lesser contraventions. The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents town halls, and the private parking industry also back this. Last week (April 27), in a written Parliamentary question unearthed by this newspaper, transport minister Simon Lightwood was asked whether his Department has 'plans to review the level of Penalty Charge Notices for parking offences outside London'. He replied: 'The Department for Transport (DfT) recognises that there is a published report from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, following its August 2025 trial of higher PCN levels, as well as research carried out by the British Parking Association, the Local Government Association and other key stakeholders. 'The Department is looking into the issue and these findings and recommendations will be carefully considered before any decisions are taken.' In another written question a week earlier, Mr Lightwood said 'key stakeholders have been collaborating to gather comprehensive evidence on the effectiveness of current PCN levels in England outside London,' adding: 'Their findings and recommendations have been submitted to the Department for Transport which will be carefully considered before any decisions are taken.' Asked a third time if the DfT had any 'plans to adopt the recommendations of that report', Mr Lightwood added the Department was 'reviewing the findings' of the 'month‑long trial of higher PCNs.' Despite the minister's remarks, the DfT last night tried to insist it had 'no plans' to raise the current cap for councils outside London. But sources admitted that 'we will always review evidence' and that future hikes cannot be ruled out. A spokesman added: 'We are a government firmly on the side of drivers and we fully expect councils only to use penalty charge notices as a deterrent for law-breaking - not as a way to raise funds.' An LGA spokesman said: 'Fines outside London have remained the same since 2008. 'In many places, this can serve as a less effective deterrent to unfair, inconsiderate and illegal parking. 'We support the Government's intention to review this.' No comments have so far been submitted. 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