WILL LABOUR ABIDE BY GEDDES ?
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THOSE who fear the worst with regard to the General Election should not underestimate the influence that the Geddes Committee would probably have on a Labour Government. This reassurance was given by Mr. H. R. Featherstone, national secretary of the Traders Road Transport Association, at an open meeting of the West Midland division on Monday. He said it might be about 18 months to two years before the Committee submitted its report. Possibly, added Mr. Featherstone, a Labour Government would bring pressure to bear on the Committee to expedite its deliberations. The Committee had had the approval of the Labour Party; he could not believe that it would introduce any major transport programme without the support of the Cori-mince.
Referring in his talk to the agreements between British Railways and the oil companies, Mr. Featherstone said that this might presage the offer of very attractive terms for certain types of traffic by the railways. Traders did not prefer to use road vehicles if better means of transport were available.
On Continental practices. Mr. Featherstone said the ton-mile tax in Germany on C-licensed vehicles had been a dismal failure. Of the traffic that had been lost by these vehicles, 5 per cent had been diverted to rail and 95 per cent to public road transport, he said. it was necessary that transport policy in this country should line up with Continental policy, whether or not we joined the Common Market. The differences between the practices of the various countries were a major stumbling block to achieving a common policy.