Taking the fuel fight directly to party faithful
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The government should no longer be in any doubt about the threat fuel duty poses to the UK’s economic recovery, says the FTA’s Theo de Pencier
FOR THE PAST three weeks the Freight Transport Association (FTA) has been working hard to represent transport’s many and varied interests to the great and the good at the three main party political conferences. A captive audience of policymakers, professionals and advisers all under one roof affords serious political lobbying organisations of every persuasion and background an unmissable opportunity to ind new political allies, get closer to old ones and inluence policy in their favour. FTA is no exception.
Making sure your voice is heard above the clamour of others is the main challenge. Naturally, in this hectic environment, an MP’s or minister’s time is especially precious; the added pressure to get meaningful ‘face time’ necessitates strong planning and smart thinking. Step forward the Transport Hub – FTA’s solution to joining up the eclectic mix of transport voices and sectoral interests in the best interests of transport as a whole.
Building on the success of its launch last year, Transport Hub 2011 saw FTA joined by the Association of British Travel Agents, ACT TravelWise, Airport Operators Association, British Parking Association, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, DHL, Kapsch TraficCom and Keolis UK. In avoiding potential timetable clashes alone, the Hub justiies its existence, but in being ‘the greatest transport show in town’ it draws in greater focus from MPs and attracts bigger names to its panel events, with the result that the whole becomes far greater than the sum of its parts, allowing maximum bang for one’s buck.
This year’s hub events numbered 30, held across the Lib Dem, Labour and Conservative conferences, and covered issues of freight, aviation taxation, sustainable transport, the future of rail and many more. They received great support from the ministerial team with Theresa Villiers and Norman Baker both appearing at four Transport Hub events.
Lively debate
FTA’s own fringe event, The battle for transport priorities: balancing affordable fuel, the deicit and the environment, attracted strong audiences and lively debate in Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. FTA’s panellists included transport minister Theresa Villiers and the face of the FairFuelUK campaign Quentin Willson. Our events explored the tensions between industrial growth, the government’s need to reduce Britain’s debt, the growing challenge of ighting climate change and the public’s manifest resentment and the damage to business of higher fuel costs. Concerning the latter, it was perhaps divine providence when the FFUK e-petition
burst through the 100,000 mark just two days before our Conservative fringe event. This was grist to the mill for the eloquent Willson, who had a greater platform upon which to argue directly to an inluential member of the transport team about the compelling economic case and undoubted public support for a reduction in fuel duty.
Being able to deliver such delicious food for thought in person to the policymakers themselves, and in front of a packed room full of other MPs, journalists and business interests, is priceless. The supportive reception we enjoyed at each of our fringe events clearly shows that the issue of fuel duty is non-partisan, as did our private meetings with the likes of Rob Flello MP (Labour, chair of All-Party Freight Group), Steve Baker MP (Con, Transport Select Committee) and Julian Huppert MP (Lib Dem, cochair of LD Parliamentary Transport Committee) – all people in a position to inluence policy sharply, both within parliament and their own parties.
This week (11 October), FFUK’s parliamentary champion Robert Halfon MP submitted our request for a full fuel duty debate; Westminster should now be in no doubt that if government goes ahead with its reckless taxation policy it is in very real danger of pricing the UK off the road to recovery. n