Choice of Weapons
Page 48
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By JAN US
AL IHOUGH one hesitates to disturb the shouts of triumph and joy with which the free-enterprise hauliers have quite naturally greeted the result of the debate in the House of Commons on February 23, the fact remains that the second reading of the Transport (Amendment) Bill was passed only because there happened to be eight more Conservative and Liberal than Labour M.P.s in the House at the time. The total effect, if any, of the advance publicity and propaganda was to persuade a few more Opposition Members than usual to stay in town on Friday and to lull a corresponding number of Government supporters into keeping away.
One obstacle has been overcome, but there is still everything to win. The Commission has plenty of troubles already, not the least being the problem of finding another Mtn. a year in railwaymen's 'wages. The Government is less and less likely to look with favour on any proposal that may curtail the Commission's revenue, by however small an extent. Unless something persuades the Government to change its mind, the Bill is still in grave, almost hopeless, danger.
The campaign to get it through Parliament started with promise and vigour some months ago, helped on in part by the news about the revocation of permits.
The main defect of the campaign seems to have been lack of stamina. Arguments likely to influence the Government were put forward, but were not hammered home. The principal force of the protest movement spent itself in abuse and appeals for sympathy.
It seemed to be imperfectly realized that these are not sufficient in themselves to gain the day. A shower of sticks and rotten apples may frighten the inmates of the Ivory tower at first, but will achieve no permanent result unless followed up by a more solid attack.
Spent Force The hauliers' campaign wag actually more vigorous and effective during the closing months of 1950 than the first two of 1951. At one stage it seemed to be securing results. News began to leak out (through "The Commercial Motor ") that the Road Haulage Executive's decision to revoke 5,300 original permits was not as firm as had been thought. Later the Executive went so far as to invite operators who regarded their cases as " marginal," to ask for reconsideration of their permit revocations.
It is not like the Ivory Tower to withdraw its own high words There must have been good reason for the change of policy. Representatives of the R,H.E., so far as one can gather, attribute it to their own friendliness and sympathy. There may be something in this. Kindness of heart, as we know, has activated the Executive in all its dealings with hauliers. It hasaenerally been found, however, that before kindness of heart can function it must first be mixed with some baser metal.
In this case it is surely not difficult to identify the other constituent of the alloy. The hauliers may have moved the R.H.E. to tears; they moved their customers to action. Undoubtedly, the massive protests from the transport users, often made through powerful trade organizations, convinced the Executive that it might lose rather than gain traffic by too stubborn an insistence on its pound of flesh.
The offer to parley over marginal cases was a distress al4 signal as plain as any that can ever be expected from the Ivory Tower. The hauliers should have followed it up by intensifying their campaign and appealing for the maximum support from their customers. The latter were already offering their help. In the Midlands, the powerful Birmingham Chamber of Commerce was canvassing its 2,400 manufacturing members with a proposal that as much traffic as possible within the 25-mile limit should be given to free-enterprise carriers. Other Chambers appeared willing to adopt a similar proposal.
Here was the ideal weapon for the hauliers' campaign. It would deprive the Commission of revenue and the threat to use it might have persuaded the Government to think twice about the amending Bill. One waited in vain for the threat to materialize. After a flourish or two, the hauliers carefully locked the weapon away, as if fearing that its continued use would lead to the withdrawal of the concessions already obtained. They seemed unable to appreciate that the Government might be willing to yield the extra radial mileage rather than risk the loss to the Commission of a large Part of its short-distance traffic.
Rusty Weapon Hauliers must learn quickly that even the best weapon is useless if left to rust. Thenhesitation merely encouraged the Government to stand firm. For how was the situation likely to appear to Mr. Barnes and his supporters? They saw the hauliers and traders fuming and threatening, but seldom putting the threats into execution.
They saw a refined creeping barrage of Press advertising appealing in the main to the .gentlemanly instincts of politicians and the well-known sympathy of Socialists for the business man who gets it in the neck. They waited—who knows with what sinking of the heart?—for the main attack, and it did not come. After the hardluck story and the cry for fair play, there was silence.
In these circumstances, what would one expect Mr. Barnes to say? He would say that the hauliers were not suffering any real hardship; that the complaintsabout the service given by the Commission are exaggerated; that the Commission already has far too much competition to face; and that integration is wonderful. In other words, Mr. Barnes would say (and did say) what Mr. Barnes always says.
Would he have changed his tune had he known beyond doubt that the defeat of the Bill would involve the Commission in the loss of an unknown but substantial volume of traffic? In spite of Mr. Barnes's panegyrics, he knows that the Commission is not doing as well as it might.
Admittedly, it lost only £20m. of our money in one year, while the inefficient hauliers whose businesses were acquired have filched £70m. from the taxpayer; but there is still room for improvement. Nationalized undertakings are not supposed to make any loss. If the rejection of the Bill actually made the Commission worse off, there was a chance the Government would think twice about the matter.
Thanks to the. Conservatives who took -the trouble to turn up at the House on February 23, the chance is still there. Let the hauliers bear in mind that the breathing space given by the second reading victory is fortuitous. They must use it to advantage.