Five out of ten for effort
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TORIES
THE Government's Gr e en Paper on transport got a halfhearted cheer from Shadow Transport Minister Mr Norman Fowler this week — and that was for its attitude towards the railways.
"The document has rejected the superficial arguments of Labour's last two election manifestos. It at last recognises that the party's previous policy on shifting massive amounts of freight from road to rail is neither practicable nor desirable," said Mr Fowler.
He accused the Government of raising the prices of everything for the housewife. He said that it had already raised the costs of the haulage industry and made price rises inevitable and now it proposed new tax increases for the haulage industry.
"At a time of record inflation the Government is deliberately adding to the cost of living—, and, of course, increasing the price of our exports," said Mr Fowler.
The Government was clinging to outdated ideas of nationalisation. By the admission of the Green Paper public ownership would lead to uphe'aval and inefficiency, said Mr Fowler