Watch out for the Left turn
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A GENERAL Election cannot be long delayedOctober 12 is a popular tip. That leaves just over two months to consider what the return of the present administration could mean to road transport.
Almost certainly a Labour Government able to govern by its own majority would come under pressure from its left wing.
Concessions would have to be made to keep the vociferous left muted, if not quiet. One way to achieve this would be to extend public ownership, and the easiest sector in which to extend is road transport.
The Labour Party's Transport Policy document makes no secret of the fact that it wants the public sector extended. It applauds the return of Freightliners to British Rail and hopes National Carriers will follow.
When Sir Dan retires later this year, there could be dramatic changes in our national transport organisation. The socialist commitments to extend the public sector, transfer traffic from road to rail and establish an integrated transport policy could all be achieved overnight if the two modes had one chairman.
This is a possibility which cannot be ignored or lightly dismissed. British Rail chairman Sir Peter Parker is a dedicated socialist and one who could implement all of the Labour Party's transport policy -at a stroke.The danger is it would turn the country's most vital service industry into a monopoly and there is evidence aplenty that monopolies do not serve the public or the country adequately.