Weighty issue
Page 16
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MPs agre Ju Corn vote: whic to Tr RidIE from tonn road Bu not 1986 be p with Sh Gwy the m o weig of te agre Sh men incre the road Bu Brita veto that sibil POSE Th an i gid coac Th that lem lorri unitE Brita state HAVE given the green light to the lorry ed by European Transport Ministers.
st before Christmas, the munity approved by 100 3 to 32 the package agreed, h gives Britain, according .ansport Secretary Nicholas :y, an indefinite derogation
having to introduce 40 e lorries on to Britain's S.
t Mr Ridley's critics were 3o sure and warned that in immense pressure would ut on Britain to fall in line the rest of Europe. ladow Transport Secretary neth Dunwoody, accused Government of trying to re towards a common
ht of 40 tonnes by the use chnical details in the latest ement.
claimed that the Governt's right to veto any further :ase depended purely on poor quality of Britain's s and bridges.
It Mr Ridley insisted that in had effectively got a forever if necessary and he had avoided the posty of 40 tonnes being im:d by majority vote.
e one change required was gcrease in the length of rihgv to 12m, the same as hes.
le EEC had finally accepted Britain had a genuine probwith its bridges; 40-tonne as with two-axle tractive ; could not be used on lin's roads in their present From Britain's point of view, the great advantage was the doubling of quotas by 1989, which was a major step forward.
By and large, the Tories wetcorned the package agreed by Mr Ridley, although there were calls for more action on lorry routes, especially round the M25.
Mr Jonathon Sayeed, who pioneered the overseas routes to the Middle East, said he welcomed the flexibility on hours, the deal on weights and the increase in permits.