Labour scraps £950m RCF EV charging fund that never paid out a penny
Labour has scrapped the £950m rapid charging fund (RCF) promised by the previous Conservative government to install more electric vehicle (EV) chargers near motorways nationwide. Instead, Labour will set aside a smaller sum largely for on-street parking points.
The £950m RCF was announced in 2020 by the Conservative’s then-chancellor Rishi Sunak. As well as rolling out new fast chargers, the RCF was also intended to support upgrades to the grid so more EVs could be simultaneously rapid-charged.
The RCF was introduced as part of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s 10-point plan for a “green industrial revolution.” An RCF pilot scheme was planned for late 2022. However, it was delayed until spring 2023, then once again pushed back to summer 2024 until it was recently killed completely by Kier Starmer’s current Labour administration.
The previous government said the delays were due to concerns that it could unfairly benefit some motorway service stations. However, the Department for Transport said that the RCF was never formally included in budget plans, and was therefore underfunded.
In chancellor Rachel Reeves’ recent spring 2025 statement, she stated that the government would commit £400m over the next five years to support the rollout of EV charging infrastructure. This announcement came after she revealed in last year’s autumn budget that the Starmer government would allocate £200m towards public charging. It is expected that most of this spending will be used to support on-street parking in areas lacking in private-sector charging investment.
Despite dropping the Conservatives’ delayed RCF, Reeves was criticised for not using the dedicated £950m to get motorists to switch to EVs via financial incentives and other means.
Martin Lewis, CEO of on-street charge point operators, char.gy said: “The key question now is: couldn’t the full amount have been directed towards the EV effort – whether through the continued rollout of on-street charging or other consumer incentives – to give people greater confidence to make the switch to electric?”
Meanwhile, Quentin Willson, former Top Gear presenter and founder of FairCharge, a lobbyist group campaigning for cheaper charging, echoed Lewis’ comments by saying: “Withholding unused RCF funds and not diverting them towards other EV charging initiatives isn’t a great look for government,” he said. “It opens them to the obvious questions about their commitment to the EV transition.”
Willson has long-been vocal the government’s reluctance to achieve VAT parity on public charging to match the lower rates available afford by home charging. It is estimated that EV drivers relying on the public charge network pay an extra £85m annually on tax.
According to Zap-Map, prices can reach up to 88p/kWh, while charging at home can be brought down to as little as 6.5p.
Since 2025 began, Zap-Map also found that there are now over 80,000 EV chargers across the UK; a 29% increase over the previous year. In March this year, EV sales were up by 38% on 2024 – around 68,000 cars. March is an especially crucial month for the automotive industry, as it ushers in a new registration plate.
