Tory leader would back 'affordable' law changes on young drivers
Kemi Badenoch said Graduated Driving Licences could be introduced under her leadership in the UK, if evidence showed a benefit
Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, says she would introduce Graduated Driving Licences, as long as they didn't come at a "net cost" to the Government.
The North West Essex MP was in Salisbury on Tuesday morning, visiting Chemring Countermeasures, an organisation building devices to protect our air and naval forces from heat-seeking and radar controlled missiles.
Mrs Badenoch's comments follow criticism of the current Government from Canada for refusing to introduce tougher laws for new and young drivers.
They say bringing them in has reduced teenage driver deaths by over 80%.
When asked for the Conservatives position on tougher laws for young drivers, the Leader of the Opposition said: "This is the first I've ever heard of Canada's view on graduated driving licences.
"You'll have to come back to me on that one, I don't have a view because I haven't seen what the Canadians have been doing."
But when pressed on whether she would support something similar being introduced in the UK, she said it would need to rely on an evidence base.
"If the evidence showed that it was positive and it wasn't going to be a net cost and you know we could prove that it would work, but I'm not somebody who just says things without understanding the plan behind it.
"I don't just make announcements and say yes, this is a great idea. Without knowing exactly what it is that we're doing, but if the evidence is there and is something that can be shown to deliver real benefits for the British public, then I would say yes to that on anything that we could afford."