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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Big thanks to all who joined us, including our excellent speakers for making every discussion lively and insightful, and a special thanks to my wonderful colleagues (including our honorary members) for making it such a great experience!

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I was also delighted to chair a great discussion on how Labour can win on the politics of clean air alongside a stellar panel of Martin Rhodes MP, @rezinachowdhury.bsky.social, Cllr Sam Lux & Chris Annous of @moreincommonuk.bsky.social.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Besides our big ticket events with the Foreign & Energy Secretary's and reception, we had amazing events on the NHS & climate resilience, cost of living populism, food security, warm homes, the grid, climate impacts on grassroots sports, reindustrialisation, and much more. We had it all.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Another mega @lcefuk.bsky.social conference programme is done. There was a real buzz around conference this year and it was brilliant - and still slightly surreal - to have climate and environment *physically* at the heart of it with our LCEF Hub.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

🆕 Delighted to publish something I've been working on - @lcefuk.bsky.social new report, Breathe Easy, making the political case for Labour to take bold action on air pollution, based on polling we commissioned from @goodgrowthfdn.bsky.social.

Front cover of report titled Breathe Easy, How Labour Can Win The Politics of Clean Air. Picture is of a person riding a bicycle in a quiet green space.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

Great @lcefuk.bsky.social day out in my neck of the woods with @laboursatvir.bsky.social & Associated British Ports last week to visit the Port of Southampton. Really interesting discussions on the industrial heritage of the city & the role of govt & industry in modernising & decarbonising ports.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Wolf Alice last night at the O2 was absolutely extraordinary. Generational band, one of the best of the last decade.

Wolf Alice live at the O2 - picture of stage and crowd

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

🚗 New blog from me on the announcement of a new pay-per-mile tax for EVs. It's right that EV drivers start to pay more in tax, but the wider policy & messaging must be right to ensure public confidence in the EV transition continues to grow, not be stifled. lcef.co.uk/blog/ev-tran...

Screenshot of title of blog.

Keeping the transition on the road - and why delivering EV taxes fairly will be key

1 December 2025

Image of electric car charging

Ralph Palmer

Ralph focuses on LCEF's work on transport and air quality. He has over five years of experience supporting and leading programmes of work for leading climate NGOs, mainly focused on transport.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Really great to hear @kirstymcneill.bsky.social at @coopparty.party.coop & @hopenothate.org.uk event talk about the importance of reviving social clubs - particularly in deprived areas - & the role they play in strengthening communities, tackling isolation & bringing people together.

Image of panellists at Co-Op, Hope not Hate and Power to Change event

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

@pollybillington.bsky.social on great form at Labour Coastal reception - rightly highlighting how critical it is that we don't leave coastal communities behind & the enormous potential they have to play in the green transition.

Polly Billington at Labour Coastal reception

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

Standing room only for @lcefuk.bsky.social's in conversation event with Ed Miliband and @lewisgoodall.com looking back on his three decades of being a leading voice in climate and labour politics 🌹

Ed Miliband and Lewis Goodall at LCEF event

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

We also have a great session lined up with @transenvuk.bsky.social on how to ensure the UK's EV transition continues to go from strength-to-strength. Really pleased that we'll be joined by DfT minister Lilian Greenwood MP. 📆 Tuesday 30 September ⏲️ 15:15 - 16:15 📍 LCEF x Anacta Hub

Graphic of Labour Climate and Environment Forum event at Labour Conference 2025.

Title: Leading the Charge: The Next Stage of the EV Transition.
Date: Tuesday 30th September
Time: 15:15 - 16:15

This event is open to all attendees. Please note the event is inside the secure zone.

Panellists:
Lilian Greenwood MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary
Ryan Jude, Green Finance Institute
Virginia Sentance, Flint Global
Marc Palmer, AutoTrader
Anna Krajinska, Transport & Environment UK

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Delighted to have this stellar line up, with such a wealth of experience & expertise, for our event on why clean air should be at the heart of Labour's health mission & how this can be delivered. Looking forward to a great discussion! 📆 Tuesday 30 September ⏲️ 08:30 - 09:30 📍 LCEF x Anacta Hub

Graphic for Labour Climate and Environment Forum event.

Titled: Cleaning the Air through Labour's Health Mission
Date: Tuesday 30th September
Time: 08:30 - 09:30

This event is open to all attendees. Please note the event is inside the secure zone.

Panellists:
Adam Jogee, MP for Newcastle-Under-Lyme
Shanika Mahendran, Milton Keynes Council
Peter Babudu, Impact on Urban Health
Mete Coban, Deputy Mayor of London
Rezina Chowdhury, Lambeth Council

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

We have a really exciting programme of events at the LCEF x Anacta Hub at #Lab25, where we'll be joined by of cabinet members & ministers, MPs, councillors, campaigners, industry figures & thought leaders. Join us! Full programme of events & speakers here: luma.com/lceflab25?k=c

Graphic of Labour Climate and Environment Forum's conference programme. More details can be found in the link in post.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

The UK's EV market continues to go from strength to strength, making up 1/5 of all new cars sold in the first half of 2025 (1/4 in June) putting the UK at the forefront of the transition in Europe. Opportunity for govt to build on momentum & maximise carbon & cost savings potential for households.

New car registrations in European top markets
June 2025 versus June 2024

Battery electric vehicles as a share of new sales
Germany 18.4%, up 9%
France 17.2%, up 0%
Italy 6.0%, down 41%
Spain 9.4%, up 103%
United Kingdom 24.9%, up 46%

New car registrations in European top markets
January to June 2025 versus January to June 2024

Battery electric vehicles as a share of new sales
Germany 17.7%, up 35%
France 17.7%, down 6%
Italy 5.2%, up 28%
Spain 7.6%, up 84%
United Kingdom 21.6%, up 31%

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Pleased to see "cleaning up our air" included in the Government's new Health Plan's focus on prevention, with a commitment to "refresh the government ambition on air quality". This is much needed & bringing public health into the framing can be an important way to increasing public support.

Screenshot p59 of 10 Year Health Plan for England.

Sickness to Prevention

Includes: Refresh the government ambition on air quality to protect everyone from the health impacts of air pollution.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Really pleased that today we've launched our new @lcefuk.bsky.social case study collection 'Breathing Freely', showcasing the ambitious leadership being shown by Labour councils around the country to tackle air pollution.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Very promising update from @newautomotive.org on February's car sales data: 🔌 One-in-four new cars sold in Feb were EV 📈 Fifth consecutive month of EV sales being above 20% 🎯 Industry looking well on track to meet 2025 targets 📉 Petrol sales are at an all time low newautomotive.org/ecc

Donut chart showing EVs making up 25.6% of new car registrations in February 2025 https://storage.googleapis.com/public_download_assets/ecc_pdfs/20250304%20ECC%20February%202025.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Table showing car sales by powertrain - EV sales up 7.69% in February 2025 compared to February 2024. https://storage.googleapis.com/public_download_assets/ecc_pdfs/20250304%20ECC%20February%202025.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Also love this from Angela Rayner, talking positively about her experience of growing up in a tight-knit community in Stockport, where vital amenities were all walkable so they weren't dependent on a car. www.independent.co.uk/voices/angel...

"I didn’t grow up in a new town, but in Stockport my family did benefit from the kind of tight-knit communities we want to see grow up again. We had shops, schools and a GP close by, and parks and woodlands free for all to enjoy. We could walk everywhere we had to – no need for a car – but there was public transport right there when you wanted to go further afield."

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Making the most of an extended Christmas break, hiking around the South Downs & relaxing in Lewes' many wonderful pubs. Back to it on Monday when I'll be starting an exciting new role!

Picture of waymakers for the South Downs Way with rolling hills and the sea in the background

Picture across of Lewes, nestled in the South Downs

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

While hydrogen production is mentioned a fair bit, more specific plans for scaling up green hydrogen & e-fuel production for maritime & aviation will be needed ASAP. Big opportunities here for the UK.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

The Flexibility Roadmap will also look at options to accelerate deployment of smart charging (important for grid balancing) & take steps to ensure costs for consumers are not prohibitive.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

A Clean Power Flexibility Roadmap will be published in 2025 which will include options to "remove final consumption levies" on V2G, which currently act as a disincentive.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

There will be a call for evidence next year to "drive the construction of solar canopies on outdoor carparks". It's a no brainer for the UK to start catching up with other countries to make the most of space carparks take up. Hope to see the Government put in a mandate on this.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Appropriate reading for the Eurostar over to Brussels 🚄 @garethdennis.bsky.social

Picture of me holding Gareth Dennis' book "How the Railways Will Fix the Future" on the Eurostar

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Carmakers can spin this as much as they like but, ultimately, regulations are making EVs more cost competitive for the public & bringing more affordable, smaller models to market. This is a good thing! Removing the incentive (targets) for carmakers to do this could derail the UK's EV transition.

Graphic showing that 11 new EV models priced under €25,000 have or are due to come onto the European market in 2024 and 2025.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Carmakers complain that EV sales are being driven by "unsustainable discounting of EVs", but they conveniently omit the fact they are also applying increasing discounts to non-EVs. Given the volumes, non-EV discounts will be costing them as much, if not more. From: www.autotraderroadto2035.co.uk

Graph from AutoTrader showing the discounting levels to EVs vs Non-EVs. As of August 2024, car makers are applying an 11% discount to EVs and an 8.4% discount to non-EVs.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Important to note: EV sales for year-to-date is now 18.8%. While the headline target in 2024 is 22%, carmakers gain credits for better fuel efficiency of non-EVs which, in turn, lowers their EV target. This means the overall target is actually ~18.1%, meaning the ZEV mandate target has been hit.

Table showing year to date and monthly sales by powertrain in the UK.

Shows that battery electric car sales are up to 18.77% for the year to date.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Really good blog by @bennelmes.bsky.social - worth a read on the current situation around the ZEV mandate. This bit is particularly important that often gets missed by the media: some carmakers have just made some very bad decisions. greenallianceblog.org.uk/2024/12/05/w...

Screenshot of the article, entitled "Some company decisions don't make sense".

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Companies are lagging behind private buyers on EVs in many EU countries. The EU is right to want to address this & regs will help car makers meet CO2 targets by strengthening demand. UK corporate market is well ahead of private due to tax incentives, but worth keeping an eye on EU developments.

Bar graphs showing corporate vs private EV share in the EU by year for 2021, 2022 and 2023.

In 2021, private was 10.2% and corporate was 8.6%
In 2022, private was 14.5% and corporate was 10.8%
In 2023, private was 15.6% and corporate was 14.1%

Graph showing the countries where corporate lags behind private for EV registrations and vice versa. In 73% of the EV market in Europe, companies lag behind private, including France and Germany - the two biggest car markets in the EU.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

He's right that the decision to push the phase out back was disastrous for industry & public confidence. Messing about with the ZEV mandate won't fix that. The talk of shifting the goalposts is exactly what lowering the fines & increasing flexibilities - as is being trailed in the media - would be.

Screenshot of the article linked above where Jonny Reynolds explains how the EV transition was going well until the decision to delay the phase out date "delivered a huge blow to our credibility, risking investment, jobs and growth".

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Industry is set to deliver nearly a dozen affordable EVs over this & next year, meaning EVs will be more accessible than ever before. This has only been made possible as a result of EU & UK regulation compelling manufacturers to bring these models to market.

graphic showing the number of EV models below €25,000 currently announced to be coming to the European market for each year. In 2024, 6 models in this category have or will come to market, and a further 5 in 2025, 3 in 2026 and 1 in 2027.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Great new report by @neweconomics.bsky.social showing how the current approach to new build homes is locking in car-dependency. Ensuring sustainable transport options are integrated into the planning process for new homes is absolutely critical. neweconomics.org/2024/11/trap...

Bar chart from New Economics Foundation report showing the car dependency of UK regions - East Midlands is the highest, followed by the East of England, South West, South East, West Midlands, North East, Yorkshire & Humber, North West and finally London.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 17/11/2024

Autumn is a pretty great time of the year to be living in the New Forest 🌳🍂

A narrow country road lined with trees and fallen autumnal leaves.

A forest floor covered in autumnal leaves.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

Meanwhile, SUV sales generally are on the rise with them representing 62% of new cars sold in the first half of 2024 - one of the highest in Europe. 15% of new sales are in the larger SUV segments - often very heavy, very wide & with very high bonnets.

Stacked bar charts showing the share of new registrations that are SUVs in the UK - showing growth from 50% in 2021 up to 62% in 2024.

Graph showing SUV shares for EU 27 and UK, showing the UK as one of the highest in Europe behind only Ireland, Sweden, Latvia and Lithuania.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

T&E analysis shows that cars are getting wider, with the average car over 180cm wide - too wide for the minimum specified UK on-street parking space. As a result, cars are increasingly marginalising space given to other road users including cyclists. www.transportenvironment.org/articles/eve...

Line chart showing average width of new cars in the EU and UK since 2001, with growth across all markets - for the UK ending up at over 180cm wide.

Graphic showing the space given to cyclists on a street with two cars parked either side of the road and car driving in the road - 180cm wide car vs a 200cm wide car in a standard European street. The latter means the cyclist would be squeezed out of the road.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

As this Der Spiegel graphic shows, the field of vision directly in front of large pick-ups is restricted, meaning drivers are unable to see young children directly in front of them.

Graphic from Der Spiegel showing the field of vision in front of a Dodge Ram style pick up truck and a small child in front of it - who would not be visible to the driver.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

Regulations make markets. Over the coming months & couple of years, Europe's EV market is going to look completely different. The UK's ZEV mandate & EU's CO2 standards is pushing carmakers to finally start producing & selling affordable EVs.

Graphic showing the number of sub €25,000 EVs planned to be available in Europe, with 6 coming to market in 2024, 5 in 2025, 3 in 2026 and 1 additional planned in 2027.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

So, expect posts about the UK's EV transition & the policies to support this, car bloat/SUVs & affordable EVs, as well as wider transport/climate policy & politics. Also should warn you about the occasional post about Liverpool football club, living in the New Forest & our new kitten Billy 👇

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

A serious, detailed plan is particularly needed for transport which is way off track - and going in the wrong direction. www.transportenvironment.org/state-of-tra...

UK greenhouse gas emissions by sector, showing transport as the highest and going up in recent years compared to declines in other sectors.

UK greenhouse gas emissions by transport mode, showing cars as the biggest share, followed by HDVs, shipping, vans, and aviation.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 10/11/2024

We're big fans of Gone Fishing in our household - particularly Billy.

Billy the cat watching Gone Fishing on the TV.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 09/11/2024

It's the hope that kills you @ LFC

Image of the English Premier League table showing the mighty Liverpool football club top of the table by 5 points after 11 games

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 08/11/2024

Agreed. This is the breakdown of people who park on street vs garage/private property. 1/4 of drivers is significant, but things are improving with funding in place to build local authority capacity on this. Gullies for CPs may also be suitable in some places. Fair pricing is very important on this.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 08/11/2024

Improving user experience of chargepoints & supporting industry to accelerate rollout should also be a priority for the Government. We said the same in our consumer research from March. www.transportenvironment.org/te-united-ki...

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 08/11/2024

Completely agree with all of Which?’s recommendations. Protecting the ZEV mandate against increased pressure from the auto industry is absolutely critical - the regulations are delivering for consumers with lower prices, better deals & a wider variety of models.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 08/11/2024

Key, well known benefits of switching to EVs are being met with more doubt by the public. This is a direct result of a) swathes of misinformation across our media & b) Govt comms failures to build a positive narrative around the transition. House of Lords EV report from Feb 2024 found exactly this.

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 08/11/2024

The % of people listing running costs as a benefit went down too, from 38% in 2021 to 29% in 2023. If you can charge at home, EVs are undeniably cheaper to run - but our research earlier in the year found this same concern, particularly after the spike in home electricity bills. (ZapMap graphic)

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 08/11/2024

What is worrying is how perceptions are getting worse despite progress. DfT polling showed that the share of people listing environmental benefits as an advantage for EVs went from 82% in 2021 to 69% in 2023. This backs up another poll by Climate Barometer: climatebarometer.org/topic/net-ze...

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Ralph Palmer @ralphpalmer.bsky.social · 08/11/2024

It’s one thing for models currently sold to be reaching parity, it’s another whether those models are what consumers want. The car industry has prioritised premium, expensive EVs at the expense of the smaller, affordable models that people can afford. This is changing, but it needs to accelerate.

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