Fuel campaign: FTA is in for 11.5m—more needed
Page 5
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
II by Miles Brignall
The Freight Irarisport Association is launching what tt hopes will be a ilm advertising cam paign to persuade the Government to halt planned diesel duty increases.
Next month the FTA will unveil what it describes as its 'biggest campaign ever to drive home the message that fuel duty rates are killing not just hauliers, but the whole of industry. And it's inviting the haulage industry to match the £500,000 it has already pot up to fund it.
Director general David Green says the campaign will take the form of adverts in national newspapers and on billboards, backed with vigorous lobbying of decision makers at party conferences and in Parliament.
The FTA has already engaged the services of advertising agency Cicero and various consultancies to work on the exact message it will present.
Even at this early stage ft is
promising it will be radical and hard hitting.
The FTA has put together a glossy document detailing the consequences of the Government's escalator policy and claims that as many as 8,000 new foreign-registered trucks are entering the UK each month.
The FTA distances itself from the Road Haulage Association's protests in London and avoids talking about the plight of small hauliers, preferring to focus on the impact on industry as a whole.
The document, including a request for donations, is being sent to the largest 1,000 members and some allied bod ies including vehicle manufacturers. The FTA board will administer all funds collected and all FTA members will receive requests for money.
'If we fail, the Chancellor will be demanding £1,200 on average for every truck after the next Budget. We are asking hauliers to contribute £1,000 now to stop this from happening,' says Green.
Contact the Freight Tax Campaign on 01892 552240.