On Tuesday 18 May Sir David spoke in the ‘10-point plan: six months on’ debate and urged the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to ensure that Southend has enough electric vehicle charging points.

Sir David Amess said:

I welcome the commitment in the 10-point plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but we have very few electric vehicle charging points in Southend and many parking restrictions. We would very much like to see them on new builds and in people’s driveways. With petrol and diesel cars being banned by 2030, will my right hon. Friend please help us to get more of these charging points in Southend before we become a city?

Kwasi Kwarteng replied:

That begs the question, when will Southend become a city? Leaving that to one side, of course I will help my hon. Friend achieve those goals. The electric charging point roll-out is perhaps the most important metric—the most important thing to do— in order to achieve our goals with respect to electric vehicles.