COMMENT
Page 8
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Thanks for nothing
Surprising? Hardly. Disappointing? Most definitely. But the Chancellor's failure to jump off the fuel duty escalator in this week's Budget (and the continued uncertainty over ULS diesel as CM went to press) won't be the end of the fight.
Despite all the rallies, letters and articles alerting him to the likely consequences, he has added over Gp to the price of a litre of diesel. At least there is the announcement, at long last, of less punitive VED rates on 4o/4r-tonne vehicles than some had anticipated.
It now remains to be seen how the industry reacts. Will hundreds of Britain's hauliers start flagging out? And if they do, what fate awaits the thousands of purely domestic operators who cannot? Little wonder that one transport consultant has decided to see if the Government can be taken to the European Court of Justice for making UK hauliers uncompetitive (see page 8). There has never been a better time for Britain's hauliers to stand up to their customers on rates, and simply refuse jobs that don't pay. But this will only work if the industry truly unites on the question of rates. With any luck, last week's announcement about tougher enforcement will make life harder for the cowboys (see page ri).
Whatever you do, don't give up. For a start, you can use the faxbad< form in this week's issue to tell us what you want to do next (see page ro). And look out for our special guide in next week's issue on how to make your MP's life hell until he appreciates the conditions you're being forced to operate under!
Whatever Britain's haulage community does now, one thing's for sure: it must not give up.
• Robin Mums, Deputy Editor