AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

Question of Status

13th August 1954, Page 45
13th August 1954
Page 45
Page 45, 13th August 1954 — Question of Status
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

pROMOTION to Minister of Transport of the able and logically minded Mr. J. A. Boyd-Carpenter provides a good opportunity to ask why the man in charge of such an important Government department is not a member of the Cabinet., The question was perhaps not relevant, while his predecessor was at Berkeley Square House. The circumstances were unusual. Mr. Lennox-Boyd who, as Colonial Secretary, is now promoted from Cabinet status to a seat in the Cabinet, took over the Ministry of Transport at short notice following a breakdown in the health of Mr. J. S. Maday. It was always understood that colonial affairs were his main interest and that he would go back to them as soon as the opportunity arose.

At first, he had indirect representation in the Cabinet through Lord Leathers. The not very happy overlord experiment was short-lived. While it lasted transport, as well as fuel and power, had at least a spokesman at top level. He was ineffectual because of the terms of his appointment. Lord Leathers' resignation may have been a relief to him, but it had the result of liquidating the last direct Cabinet interest in the industries he represented.

By accident rather than design, the present Government seem to have gone back to the old practice of changing the Minister of Transport as soon as, or even before, lie has learned his job. Mr. Alfred Barnes, who .served through two Parliaments, easily set up a record that, unfortunately, is not likely to be beaten. He did his job well, although there will be no end to the argument whether the job was worth doing.

He hardly tried to disguise the fact that he was a subordinate. The general policy of nationalization was laid down before he took office. To his lasting creditor discredit, some of his fellow-Socialists are beginning to say—was the decision to drop the clause that would have imposed a mileage restriction on the C licence holder. In other directions he was not without ideas, but lacked the means or the power to put them into execution.

Stolen Treasure

Impressive to outward appearance, the memorial of his achievements would, like the sarcophagus of the pharaoh, be found empty and, mainly for the same reason, that somebody had stolen the treasure. Mr. Barnes may be reconciled to the spoliation of his Transport Act by the vandals in the opposite camp. For the lack of fruition of his other legislation his own leaders were to blame. Progress under the Special Roads Act has been negligible. The ambitious plan that in a decade would take the roads of the country out of the 19th into the 20th century is now almost forgotten, eight years after it was presented to Parliament.

Mr. Barnes' merit as Minister lay largely in taking the job seriously. If he had ambitions to shine as a Minister of first rather than second magnitude, he concealed them. He seemed content to hold the post permanently. Most of his many predecessors undoubtedly used the Ministry as a stepping stone, and this particular route was used more frequently than others. It was as though one Government after another recognized the importance of the Ministry sufficiently to put—but not to keep—somebody good there.

By improving the status of a Ministry, the Government would at the same time improve the status of its occupant. He would regard his task as of the highest importance if he could see that it was so regarded by the other leaders of the Government. There was a suggestion at One time that this was the attitude of the present Government towards transport, but the end of the two-tier arrangement removed any vestiges of such a suggestion.

Road users deserve some consideration after the years of neglect. They fared indifferently well even with Mr. Lennox-Boyd at the Ministry and Lord Leathers in the Cabinet. They have been given another excellent champion in Mr. Boyd-Carpenter. He has the interests of road transport at heart, and was one of many distinguished Conservatives, including the Home Secretary and the President of the Board of Trade, who kept the question of denationalization alive while they were out of office, and devised plans for putting it into effect when they returned to power.

Insufficient Authority

His experience at the Treasury will have shown Mr. Boyd-Carpenter how difficult it is to make headway on behalf of road transport without more authority than the average Minister of Transport can claim. Other industries can look after themselves. Fuel and power— even the railways—seem to find no difficulty. They are given ample facilities for borrowing money for capital expenditure, but any proposal for a road loan is rejected as dangerous and likely to upset the financial structure of the country. Enormous sums of money are voted for defence, but none of that money is to be spent on roads, which one would have thought a military necessity.

In war or in peace, roads are of the first importance.

More than 10 per cent. of the national income is devoted to road transport. The man who is ultimately responsible for this huge section of the national welfare deserves all possible help. In Mr. Boyd-Carpenter the industry has a man of the right calibre. It would be a pity if his efforts were frustrated through lack of adequate means.

The new Minister has other things to think about besides roads. He takes on a legacy of unfinished business, including the later stages of road haulage disposal, the future of road passenger transport and railway reorganization. His job as Minister of Civil Aviation also is no sinecure. In all these matters much depends upon his own energy and a reasonable share of good fortune. He needs no greater power than the Cabinet rank he has been given, without a seat in the Cabinet itself.

His responsibility for roads and road transport is of a different order. He begins with a situation where road users are liberally taxed but almost the bare minimum is spent on the roads. The Exchequer wants all it can get, but is reluctant to spend, whilst the road user has no say whatever in what should be spent on the roads he uses, or even in what roads should be built or improved. The only solution to this deaalock appears to be the appointment of an authority able to negotiate on equal terms with the Treasury. Inclusion of the Minister of Transport in the Cabinet might at long last have this result.


comments powered by Disqus