Bleak outlook for the heavier lor
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The momentum which built ip after the White Paper on lories, people, and the environnent was published in De:ember last year, proposing idoption of the Armitage Re)ort's 1980 plans for 34, 38, and 10-tonne lorries and some then imited environmental mea;ures, appears to have been lost.
Vociferous backbench Conser
■ ative opposition to those )roposals led Mr Howell to add ;everal additional measures, ;uch as sideguards and the envionmental factors in operator icensing now contained in the Transport Bill, but it is clear that n spite of intensive lobbying by he industry, and regular 5peeches by the Transport Secretary and his two Under-Secretaries, that the hard core of ppposition is as powerful as sver.
While the Falklands conflict ielped divert attention away From the issue, it may also have destroyed whatever Cabinet resolve survived on the issue, and it is likely that Mr Howell's political efforts will now be directed more towards tackling the twin troubles of British Rail and London Transport.
There must be a general election by May 1984, and no surprise would be created by one next autumn, so anything as contentious in Conservative seats as a "juggernaut war" would be very unwelcome in the final months leading up to an election.
If the issue is then put off until after an election, and the Conservatives win a second term of office, it is still by no means certain whether Mr Howell's lorry crusade would be renewed. Indeed, it is by no means certain whether Mr Howell would remain Transport Secretary.
For the industry, the coming months will show its strength of commitment to heavier lorries. The Freight Transport Association's national council was meeting this week to decide where it goes from here, especially as some of the "negative" items in the revised White Paper package are likely to take effect before any decision is taken on weights.
It would be unthinkable for either the FTA or any other industry lobbying group to abandon the weights fight now, but revised tactics may be deemed a good idea in case operators find themselves at risk of incurring additional costs without being able to recoup any of the advantages.