The idea for green number plates from Grant Shapps is straight out of nudge theory:

How can we best encourage zero-emission vehicles? Green number plates could help…

✅ highlight electric vehicles
✅ raise awareness
✅ promote clean energy

Have your say here 👉 https://t.co/qFS1x6Z7TT#RoadToZero | #FutureOfTransport | #NetZero pic.twitter.com/j2MhBbUjMJ

— Dept for Transport (@transportgovuk) October 22, 2019

This is at the sensible end of green policymaking: it doesn’t cost much, encourages rather than coerces, and will allow people to virtue signal over paying top money for a car that can’t get them to the shops and back… yet.

The Guardian’s political correspondent Peter Walker, however, reckons “giving electric vehicle drivers free parking just perpetuates yet another problem, inequality.” It does seem paradoxically iniquitous to give the richer owners of the most expensive cars lower taxes and driving costs…

UPDATE: It turns out this is a re-announcement of the scheme Chris Grayling unveiled in September of last year. Unlike Michael Green Grant Shapps to simply rename and relaunch something like this…

Reminds Guido of Shapps’ suspiciously similar speech to Chris Grayling over airline collapse. Is this a DfT that is a little too keen on recycling?..