Party time for transport
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• Transport Secretary Cecil Parkinson has promised to clamp down on black smoke from trucks and buses.
In his speech to the Tory party conference on Tuesday he also vowed to make it easier for the private sector to invest in road and bridge projects, as it has with the Dartford Bridge, the second Severn crossing and the Birmingham north relief road.
The free-flow "red route" scheme for London would be extended to other cities, he said. He also plans to end the "unco-ordination of public utilities digging up our roads", and to fine them if they cause inconvenience.
Parkinson believes that the vast majority of imports and exports will still travel by sea even after the Channel Tunnel is opened. He attacked Labour's promises to relieve road congestion. "The M1 today is as good as it is ever going to be if Labour gets its way," he said.
D At its conference last week the Labour Party called for EC
cabotage proposals to be amended "to ensure the harmonisation of conditions of competition in road haulage to protect UK drivers' jobs from unfair competition".
The resolution, backed by the Transport and General Workers' Union, is seeking harmonisation of EC drivers' hours to British standards.
In a composite motion on transport, the conference rejected calls for renationalisation of all privatised bus services. "It would not be tenable for a future Labour government to do so", says a party spokesman.