Wes Streeting urged to ditch ‘absurd’ bid to electrify all UK ambulances within 15 years
Health Secretary Wes Streeting faced calls last night to ditch the ‘absurd’ Net Zero plan to electrify all UK ambulances within 15 years.
The cash-strapped NHS is preparing to abandon all its diesel ambulances and install almost 5,000 charging points at hospitals and ambulance stations to power a fleet of electric-powered vehicles.
Health chiefs have refused to reveal how much the new ambulances will cost, but official figures seen by the Mail on Sunday reveal it will cost £100million just to upgrade the grid and electrical infrastructure required for charging points.
The MoS can also reveal there are currently just two electric-powered ambulances picking up passengers in England – compared with more than 4,500 diesel ambulances.
There are 160 other electric emergency vehicles for paramedics, including two cars, 16 response vans and three motorbikes.
The latest electric ambulances have a range of up to 200 miles, but paramedic crews in rural areas often travel further in a shift.
Latest figures show the average response time in England for the most life-threatening ‘category-one’ ambulance calls is seven minutes and 52 seconds – compared with an NHS target of seven minutes.
Last night Nick Timothy MP, former chief of staff to ex-prime minister Theresa May, said: ‘Ambulance services have been struggling to meet their response targets. With these challenges it is absurd to distract NHS workers from their jobs with unrealistic Net Zero targets.
West Midlands Ambulance service launched the first fully electric emergency ambulance 2020
Wes Streeting faced calls last night to ditch the ‘absurd’ plan to electrify all UK ambulances
‘Time, planning and expense are going into buying electric vehicles and building chargers – many of which will never be installed – instead of improving response times.
‘Even more concerning is the challenge of upgrading the grid in time to meet the extra demand.
‘This is yet another case of climate policy racing ahead of technology with shocking results for patients and taxpayers.’
England’s first electric ambulance began operating in the West Midlands in 2020. Another eight will be delivered this year to be used in urban areas such as Birmingham.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said: ‘Seventy per cent of our area is mainly rural and this continues to be the biggest factor in our move to electric – having the range to operate in areas where vehicles can do 200 miles-plus in a shift.’
East of England Ambulance Service has been trialling three electric ambulances since 2023, but has not used them to transport passengers. Another eight will be delivered to the service this year.
The Department of Health said: ‘New electric ambulances will save the NHS £59million a year to reinvest in frontline care.’
The NHS said: ‘It is right we seek sustainable alternatives when they improve patient care and save the taxpayer money. Electric ambulances will not impact response times, [and] are cutting emissions, maintenance and fuel costs.’
Labour accused of ‘quietly urging shamed MP Andrew Gwynne to stay on’ over fears of losing another by-election to Reform
Labour is privately urging a disgraced MP not to quit for fear of losing another by-election to Nigel Farage‘s Reform UK, it was claimed last night.
Sources said former health minister Andrew Gwynne, suspended by Labour after The Mail on Sunday exposed his racist and sexist comments earlier this year, was facing appeals from party officials to stay on.
They said Labour was ‘scared stiff’ that if Mr Gwynne stood down, it would hand Mr Farage another by-election triumph akin to Reform’s shock victory in Runcorn and Helsby last month.
But local Labour officials are also said to be worried that snatching Mr Gwynne’s Greater Manchester seat would give Reform a platform to oust nearby Labour big-hitters Deputy PM Angela Rayner and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds at the next general election.
The claims come after Sir Keir made clear he now considered Reform to be Labour’s main enemy, saying the Tory party was ‘sliding into the abyss’.
In leaked messages from a local WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers, the MP also joked about how he hoped a pensioner who didn’t vote for his party would die before the next election.
The MP, who apologised for his ‘badly misjudged comments’, is now under investigation by the Commons’ standards watchdog over potentially ‘causing significant damage to the reputation of the House’.
When this newspaper revealed the messages in February, Mr Gwynne was sacked as a health minister and ‘administratively suspended’ by the Labour party immediately.
Former health minister Andrew Gwynne was suspended by Labour after The Mail on Sunday exposed his racist and sexist comments earlier this year
Nigel Farage celebrates as the party wins the Runcorn and Helsby by-election results
Sarah Pochin won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election from the Labour Party last month
However, last night, insiders claimed Labour officials at national and local level were privately appealing to Mr Gwynne, who sits as an Independent MP, not to resign and trigger a by-election in his Gorton and Denton seat.
The sources said party bosses were desperate to avoid a repeat of their shock defeat in the Runcorn and Helsby contest where Mr Farage’s party overturned a 14,696 Labour majority last month. With a 13,413 majority, Mr Gwynne’s seat looks to be even more vulnerable.
One insider predicted: ‘With Reform riding high in the polls, there’d be only one winner if Gwynne resigned from the Commons and that’d be the candidate Nigel Farage picked to stand. There’s no way Labour would hold it – they’re scared still of Reform.’
The 72-year-old from Stockport who Mr Gwynne insulted said she was angry he had not stood down yet, adding: ‘If he wants to resign, Labour should allow it. I know Reform has won a seat, and they don’t want to lose another.’
However, one Labour MP dismissed the idea that the party wanted Mr Gywnne to stay on, stressing the strong action it had taken when his offensive messages were revealed. Mr Gwynne declined to comment.
