Brave new world
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"MY DEEP throat in the Labour Party has shown me a secret group report on freight," said Maggie's brother Cromwell.
''It makes a change for a leak to come from Transport House rather than the Conservative Central Office,'" I said.
"This is no namby-pamby Tory stuff," said Cromwell. "Its one concession to the censor is that it avoids using four-letter words such as 'nationalisation.' " "1 can see the reason for that," I said.
"All the way through, the group has been careful in its choice of language," said Cromwell, "For instance, the opening sentence in the original draft was: 'The sole purpose of transport must be to serve the needs of the community.'
"Nothing wrong with that," I said. "Jim Callaghan could not have it better."'
"But as soon as you mention the community," said Cromwell, "you remind people of the Common Market, which all the members of the group are against. A more suitable word had to be found, so that the report actually begins 'The sole purpose of transport must be to serve the needs of the State," "That does not mean exactly the same," I said. "Only a trifling political difference," said Cromwell. ''The State is identified with the Labour Party, whereas it occasionally happens that the community votes the wrong way."
"Is that distinction drawn in the report?" I asked.
"It can be confidently assumed from the next few words," said Cromwell. —It follows that the State must have control over everything that is carried.' "
"White papers on transport usually start in much the same way," I said, "but without such menacing overtones."
"All that it means," said Cromwell, "is that the job is important, and you cannot allow just anybody to do it."
'What is really important,'" I said, "is who will have the right to do it, and not merely who we are going to exclude."
"Naturally the report covers this point," said Cromwell. " 'This control,' it goes on, 'should be exercised through a freight transport board. It will have offices throughout the country. All that anyone has to do is to let the nearest office know his transport requirements, and they will be met by the best possible service available.' " "It sounds like a colossal clearing house," I said.
"Much more than that," said Cromwell. "Listen to the next bit 'The existing road haulage industry with its ragtag assortment of barely reputable firms and cowboys, of bloated profiteers and bankrupts, of State-owned and independent companies, will become superfluous. The FTB will take over,' " "One can only hope the customers will be happy," I said. "There are no weakening doubts on this score," said Cromwell. " 'It follows," says the group (this seems to be one of its favounte phrases), 'that with the new and greatly improved national service available to him, the so-called own-account operator will no longer have to endure the burden of running vehicles for himself. He has only to pay the bill that the FTB will send him once a month.' " "Trade and industry seem for the most part to bear up remarkably well under the burden," I said. "They even make a great fuss about freedom of choice, or at any rate the ETA does so on their behalf."
"Nothing more than cynical brain-washing," said Cromw, ''Listen to the masterful way in which the report tackles t spurious objection 'The own-account operator will also be relie% of the choice, which must sometimes be an agonising one, betwE the various types of transport continually thrust forward for attention by ruthless and ruinously expensive advertising and otl publicity.' The report adds, in a footnote " "Ruinously," that lE say, for him, since he has to meet the cost in the end." " -He seldom.complains about this," I said. "Your group wo no doubt say that he does not know any better."
"The report does not put it quite so crudely," said Cromw "but this is one possible interpretation of the next paragraph '1 choice will now be made for him by the FTB computer, which , automatically, and with no possible margin of error, steer his go( into the most efficient and economical channel. The procedure' also help to ensure that a more sensible use is made of the railwa _a State asset that has too often in the past been wasted." "At last the cloven hoof is revealed,'" I said.
"I forgot to tell you that the members of the group are supporters of Transport 2000," said Cromwell.
"They are well advised not to make their views public,I "There are few votes to be had there."
"That is not the group's concern," said Cromwell. "It relies the fact that nobody is interested apart from a few transport cases, who can be ignored and would in any case not vote Laboi "So that the group will not be greatly worried by your rev tions," I said.
"It reckons that the report could go verbatim into the forthcon election manifesto and would not be noticed," said Cromv■ "Who reads the manifesto anyway?"
"Certainly people go for personalities rather than for policies said.
"And Jim Callaghan,said Cromwell, "according to the grc is now regarded as an amalgam of Britannia, the Godfather Sanders of the river. So the election is in the bag."
"After which the group can reveal its hand," I said.
"We shall have a properly regulated freight transport t ndustr last,said Cromwell. "No more squabbling over permits; no nattacks on road transport from the railways; no more homilies f the two knights of road and rail; no more patronising pron,oui merits by the users."
"And no more trips to Las Palmas," I said, "if there is to I genuine drive for economy."
"The report says nothing about that," said Cromwell. "Meml of the group will be first in the queue for the excursions. It wil course, be out of the question for the managers to go. As the re points out, once they have left the country they are likely to abroad and to claim political asylum."
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