The Minister's Biggest Gamble
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TOamendment proposed by the Opposition increase the membership of the British Transport Commission from five to nine, including the chairman., has been defeated in Standing Committee of the House of Commons.
In reply to the submission that it would be impossible to find four men with the breadth of experience required for the duties to be imposed upon them, the Minister of Transport stated that the Commission would be concerned only with policy. and should not be handicapped by details of management. Apparently he does not consider that wide knowledge is necessary in the formulation of the policy by which the Nation's transport shall be run.
Should the Minister's judgment be faulty, and saddle the country with an unwise Commission. how long will the Nation have to suffer before the damage is repaired? A letter bearing on this point was recently written to "The Times" by Mr. Geoffrey Cooper, M.P., who pointed out that, although senior members of the staff made repre sentations to the British Overseas Airways Corporation about inefficiency as early as 1941, it was not until 1943 that a change was made in the directorate. The new directors "had no wide experience in either successful large-scale industry or civil aeronautics," said Mr. Cooper, and further dissatisfaction caused the resignation of the chief executive in 1946.
If the Minister of Transport should be similarly unfortunate in his choice of leaders of Britain's inland transport—and there is no evidence that his knowledge of transport is sufficient to qualify him to make these appointments—Britain's industry may well be paralysed. Chaos will be added to the frustration and lethargy that the nationalization of transport will inevitably cause. The establishment of a larger Commission would at least reduce the effects of inexperience on the part of individual members, but the Government is determined to gamble on the possibility of finding four super-men. That decision conforms with other reckless actions, in which the Government excels.