A pensioner from Gerrards Cross who launched a campaign last year to take on ‘cowboy’ private parking companies says the new Labour government is not proving better than the Conservatives in protecting motorists against an ‘unfair’ system.

Stanley Luckhurst, 85, began speaking out against private companies after winning a court case brought against him by Excel Parking last year.

He successfully proved that the poor visibility of an underground car park in Uxbridge meant he couldn’t see the signs indicating that the bay he left his car in for 20 minutes was for electric vehicles only – and it has since been his mission statement to stop the “cowboy” industry heavyweights from bringing “unfair” charges against other drivers.

His continual appeal for a new Parking Code of Practice, including “a cap on penalty charges, a curb on aggressive collection language and a truly independent appeals system” did not make much ground under Tory leadership – but the 85-year-old is beginning to think the legislative lethargy goes beyond political allegiances, as the first four weeks of a Labour government also have yet to produce any meaningful action.

Mr Luckhurst said he has had no response from repeated petitions to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Angela Rayner and suggested that the failure – so far – of the government to publish a new Code of Practice to “hold (industry) rebels to account” is indicative of “successive (leaders) running scared from the bully boys controlling the private parking industry”.

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He has also taken his appeals to Sarah Green MP – whose constituency includes Gerrards Cross as of the July 4 election – asking her to raise the issue of what he views as a continual delay in introducing the code in parliament.

A so-called “rebel” independent code introduced by the British Parking Association (BPA) and the International Parking Community (IPC) themselves in April only exacerbates the need for quick action when MPs return to the House of Commons from their summer recess on September 2.

The 85-year-old said the BPA and IPC’s code – which includes an appeals charter and a 10-minute grace period for parking violations – “falls miles short of what drivers had been promised by the government”, describing the current state of affairs as “anarchy” and reaffirming his position as acting spokesperson for “the UK’s 35 million motorists”.