'Labour will throw out haulage deregulation'
Page 11
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
by Nic Hanna • Shadow transport secretary Michael Meacher says a Labour government will reverse Tory plans to deregulate the haulage industry.
The Oldham West MP was speaking last week at the scene of the disaster in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, where three women, two men and a twoyear-old girl were killed by a runaway truck with worn brakes in September 1993.
The visit was arranged by the A58 group—local residents fighting for the introduction of weight limits and access only restrictions on the road which they say is being used by some hauliers to avoid the Ainley Top weighbridge on the M62. Meacher told them he would ask Caklerdale Council to introduce restrictions on its stretch of the A58.
Meacher says the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill,
which includes the introduction of continuous 0.1icensing and gets rid of the London lorry ban's permit scheme, is a "cowboy's charter".
"If I were transport minister, I would be strongly in favour of reintroducing five-yearly renewals", he says. "There is enough evidence of poor maintenance to justify these further checks on licences."
Meacher says Labour opposes 20% Government cutbacks to the Vehicle Inspectorate and Traffic Area Offices. But he denies jumping on the bandwagon of pressure group Brake (see page 51), which is seeking tougher punishments and more regulation of the industry.
Meacher's visit coincided with the publication of a Labour document called 'Putting Safety First" .