South West Beds MP Andrew Selous has joined the army of voices calling on the government to re-think plans to increase road tax for drivers of high-carbon vehicles.

He warned that the decision to penalise car owners whose car was registered after March 2001 will hit local drivers hard.

Mr Selous said many people will not be able to afford to buy a new car if their current vehicle falls into a high tax bracket, and said charges will hit people with older cars and families with bigger motors.

In a debate in Parliament, the MP said: 'Retrospective taxation is not a fair way to proceed.

'There is broad support across the House for environmental taxation, given the threat of climate change facing the world, but this is not the way to arrange it.'

And he branded the measure, which comes into effect next year, a 'lousy green tax'.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling unveiled the plans in his budget in March, arguing that it would encourage people to buy fewer polluting cars, which would help tackle global warming.

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HM Treasury

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