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Our new Leaders?
Page 3
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CM welcomes Philip Hammond and Mike Penning to the road transport industry. Who? Precisely!
The new government's OfT is headed by Hammond (as secretary of state for transportl, while Penning is Parliamentary under-secretary of state with responsibility for strategic roads, the Highways Agency, motoring agencies (that's VOSA and the DVLA), road safety and standards, and freight and Logistics. Neither has had any demonstrable involvement in transport (at least none that we're aware ofl: Hammond has mostly had shadow roles in health and the Treasury while Penning had a shadow health role as well. What of Theresa Villiers, the shadow secretary of state for transport since 2007 who was heavily courted by the industry? She's minister of state for transport; her responsibilities include rail and aviation, Crossraj and the Olympics...
So, not a welcome shuffling of the deck then, but this industry's stakeholders are used to dealing with a new transport minister every year, so they'll have no problem bringing the newbies up to speed. And the stakeholders have got plenty to talk about, given that Penning's stated scope includes lorry road user charging. And then there's the small matter of ensuring the Tories do hold a consultation on a fuel price stabiliser (as flagged in the run-up to the election). Let's hope the industry gets a better hearing with Hammond and Penning — 81-id that they're as welcoming as the industry is.
• This week, vve've included the showguide for Tip-ex 10, which takes place next week.
We hope to see you there.
Justin Stanton
Commercial Motor the official UK Journal of the International Truck of the Year and International Van of the Year Awards