Electric cars make people happy. More than nine in 10 EV drivers – 94% in a recent poll – are saving money, and a similar number would stick with electric for their next purchase, and recommend them to family and friends. Sales are soaring: more than half of the new cars sold in the UK last month were electric, if hybrids are taken into account, and about 28% of new car sales overall were electric only.

This is hardly surprising, given that soaring petrol and diesel costs have pushed up the price of a full tank to about £120. EV drivers are paying about 2.4p a mile.

Why then is the government considering a major U-turn on electric vehicle policy that, if followed through, could stall the take-up of EVs, help to close off a route to lower living costs, and dent the UK’s ability to meet its carbon targets?

Andy Burnham, the prime minister, wrote in the Guardian this week that he would push ahead with the target of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 .…