More Transport M.P.s Needed—Mr. Butt
Page 41
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
nNE of the Road Haulage Associa tion's problems was that there were not enough Members of Parliament with any detailed knowledge of, or interest in, road transport. This was stated by Mr. A. R. ,Butt, R.H.A. chairman, at the annual dinner of the West Midland area at Walmley on Tuesday. The more M.P.s that could be added to their number the better it would be, not just for the road haulage industry, but for the economy of the country as a whole.
He said it seemed the Government had decided that road transport was not a pressing issue; the " progressive transport policy mentioned in the Queen's Speech was what everyone wanted, and road haulage had been consistently progressive, said Mr. Butt. On demurrage, he remarked that acceptance of this principle had been reached reluctantly; the sooner that customers speeded turnround, the better pleased hauliers would be to forget about demurrage, Mrs. E. Kellett, a noted economist, said rail transport must win its own place without the Government hamstringing its competitors; road transport had the advantage of flexibility but small operators should co-operate more to hold their own against competition. The prospect of renationalization was, she said, a serious deterrent to expansion.
Mr. E. A. Betteley, T.R.T.A. divisional chairman, agreed that rail must earn its place and that hauliers were entitled to recompense for unduly long delays.