Who's who in Transport
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Marsham Street's transport team was revamped by Prime Minister John Major last week. New Secretary of State is John MacGregor; his Minister of State in the House of Lords is the Earl of Caithness, and the two Under Secretaries are Kenneth Carlisle, as Roads and Traffic Minister, with Steven Norris as Minister for Transport in London. Roger Freeman stays on as Minister of State; junior minister Patrick McLoughlin moves to Employment, and Minister of State Lord Brabazon leaves the department. Former Roads and Traffic Minister Christopher Chope lost his Southampton Itchen seat to Labour in the election.
• Transport Secretary John MacGregor will chair two major transport talks after July, when Britain takes over the EC presidency. He is no stranger to Europe: as Agriculture Minister he was involved in complex EC negotiations over farming policy.
The first informal transport ministers' meeting under Britain's presidency is on 16-17 July at Brocket Hall, Herts. This will be followed by formal sessions in Luxembourg on 26-27 October, and in Brussels on 7-8 December.
Issues which are likely to surface during MacGregor's tenure include cabotage and weights harmonisation. Cabotage is a particularly thorny problem with the Germans opposing current proposals, but if they are prepared to be flexible the issue could be settled at the June transport ministers' meeting under the current Portuguese presidency.
Proposals to harmonise weights and dimensions for domestic road transport are also likely to be tabled soon, and these are expected to be the basis of the agreement on international haulage. The Dutch and Italians both allow trucks on domestic journeys above the international 40 tonne limit, while the UK still has its 38-tonne derogation.
Brussels is keen to harmonise weights as soon as possible after the removal of frontier controls next year, when it will be hard to detect overweight trucks driving across international borders and competing unfairly. Britain is not so exposed to this problem as it will be easier to check vehicles arriving at Channel ports or via the Chunnel. • Steven Norris becomes the first Minister for Transport in London — a move that was mooted in the Conservative manifesto. He will be responsible for, among other things, Red Routes and co-ordinating transport links in the capital as Docklands develops as a commercial centre.
He has links with transport in his business career. He sold two lucrative VW-Audi dealerships in the West Country last summer because being an MP was taking up too much of his time.
After reading law at Oxford, he went into management, workNorris: former car dealer ing for Ford. will have to solve London's His Epping Forest constitucongestion.
ency is one of the safest Tory seats: he won it in a by-election in 1988 after losing Oxford East in the general election a year earlier. This time he held it with a 20,000 majority. • His previous post in Government was as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to former Home Secretary Kenneth Baker.
• Christopher Chope's replacement, Kenneth Carlisle, has shifted sideways from being a junior minister at Defence. He is a former Parliamentary Private Secretary to Douglas Hurd. His responsibilities as Roads and Traffic Minister include motorways and trunk roads outside London; local roads and traffic, road freight, road safety and traffic law. His remit also covers driver testing and training, driver and vehicle licensing, and vehicle testing and safety.
At the election he held his Lincoln seat, where he has been MP since 1979, with a 2,000 majority. He trained as a barrister, but went into business in 1966 shortly after qualifying and also owns a farm.
Meanwhile, former barrister Chope could return to his profession. His constituency association says he has not made up his mind about his future and is having a "well-earned rest".
Carlisle: shifts sideways from being a junior minister at Defence to take command of roads and traffic outside the capital