n Foster MP, Liberal Democrat spokesman for transport and the
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environment, plains what hauliers will get if you vote for his party in the general election... If you want to sound off about a road transport issue write to features editor trio Cunnane or fax your views (up to 600 words) to Mc1,4 Clarke on 020 8652 8912.
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to rise, costing businesses billions of pounds each year and damaging our environment through increased levels of pollution. Our public transport system is in chaos. Something needs to be done. We urgently need better transport for all. Britain's hauliers are perhaps affected more than most by problems of congestion on our roads. They also face an additional burden of nigher operating costs compared with the rest of Europe. The Liberal Democrats believe that Britain's hauliers should be able to compete on a more level playing field with the rest of Europe, and that we should ensure non-UK hauliers contribute fairly to their costs while in the UK. We believe the best solution lies in those policies which were actually put forward back in the joint March 2000 Budget submission from the Road Haulage Association and Freight Transport Association. This would see a significant reduction in freig,ht vehicle excise duty (VED), funded by introducing a dab charge on hauliers which also includes overseas hauliers who currently escape paying VED here. This would ensure that non-UK hauliers contribute fairly to their costs while in the UK, levelling competition between UK and EU drivers, and leading to increased revenue from nearly three-quarters of a million foreign hauliers who use Britain's roads every year. If elected, we would introduce this policy. This would save money for each and every vehicle hauliers register. But what of Labour and the Tories? Labour reduced VED for certain haulage vehicles in the last two Budgets but did not go far enough to narrow the disparity. They appear to have abandoned the idea of taxing overseas hauliers. The Tories favour a vignette system that would only apply to foreign hauliers. Under EU law this would actually be illegal, meaning that its introduction would be impossible. Labour and Tory policies will also fail to tackle problems from congestion. Under Labour's 10-Year Transport Plan, traffic and congestion are set to continue rising, and the Tories have no proposals to halt this growth. We strongly believe our policies for reducing VED and introducing a daily charge are the best way to assist hauliers and level the okaying field with the rest of Europe. However, on fuel duty we would also guarantee not to increase the tax per litre of fuel taken by the government, in real terms, for the next Parliament. We would also seek to promote technologies which improve vehicle efficiency and the use of alternative fuel systems such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas, and, in the longer term, biofuels and zero-emission vehicles. But these aren't the only Liberal Democrat policies we believe would bring benefit to Britain's hauliers. We would also boost the repair and maintenance of roads, and are committed to improving the quality of the existing network. So for the elector the choice is clear. Do you support the Tories, who created transport chaos: Labour, who have no vision to solve it; or the Liberal Democrats, who offer better transport for all and a real chance for a real change?