Lack of Argument

26th September 1958, Page 136

26th September 1958

Page 136

Page 136, 26th September 1958 — Lack of Argument

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IF the Road Haulage Association were deliberately determined to damp down all enthusiasm among their members, they could hardly have chosen a better set of resolutions than those presented for discussion at the Torquay conference next month. There is always, of course, much more to a conference than the official business. As somebody or other must certainly have said already, a conference is. like an iceberg, with only a portion of its bulk showing and the really important parts hidden.

The Torquay resolutions have no such significance. Most of them have been so mulled over at previous conferences that there can be little fresh to say. They hardly begin to cover all the possible subjects. Half of the total of eight are concerned in various ways with the activities of drivers, two deal with taxation, there is one about the farmers' .0 licence, and a final resolution calling for the setting-up of a public authority with the sole responsibility for road construction and maintenance.

Problems arising from the need for drivers to keep records may be responsible for two of the early resolutions. The compulsory use of time recorders is advocated in the interests of safety and economy, also as a means for providing accurate records. That these are not always available is alleged in a further proposal, which refers to the failure to keep forms properly, and even to their falsification by drivers. Where employers have taken • all reasonable steps to guard against offences of this kind, it is suggested that they ought not to be prosecuted.

For the benefitof drivers, a standard of fitness, to be laid down by the Government, is proposed for road transport cafés. Another resolution calls for the adequate provision of toilet accommodation on main roads.

The taxation proposals are for the abolition or reduction of purchase tax on goods-vehicle chassis, and for a change in the methods of ensuring that there is no abuse of the tax concession to certain users of fuel oil. It is suggested that tax exemption be obtained by means of a refund.

Reiterated Condemnation .

Unless. the discussions take an unexpected turn at the Labour party conference at the beginning of October, the hauliers will have added to the published list a political resolution, .put forward from the chair by Mr. R. N. Ingram. It can safely be prophesied that he will condemn the reiterated determination of the Labour party to renationalize long-distance road haulage. He is certainly right to do this, but there is nothing new for him to' say.

The final session at the Torquay conference will be devoted to what is described as a transport forum, in preference to the more old-fashioned brains' trust. Four personalities with widely differing, opinions will sit under the chairmanship of Freddie Grisewood and deal with questions sent up from the body of the hall. The ingredients of the panel, as far as one can see, have been selected in accordance with a formula for making explosives, and include a Socialist M.P., Mr. Ernest Davies. If the questions are of a sufficiently high temperature, there should be some interesting and novel reactions. This will certainly not be the case in the earlier business sessions.

The absence of controversy is not necessarily a bad thing. Proposals that are new and controversial may lead to uncomfortable disagreements and reveal tensions hitherto unsuspected. What may prove to be a good example of this was provided by Mr. Norman Morton, general manager of Sunderland Transport Department, in F22 the paper on "Public Control Without Nationalization " that he read at the Blackpool conference of the Municipal Passenger Transport Association earlier this month.

Mr. Morton" would abolish the Traffic Commissioners, also London Transport in their present form. He would like to see all road passenger transport municipalized, with the exception of long-distance express bus services, which would be merged into one body and become part of the British Transport Commission. For the London area there would be four separate operating bodies, each responsible to a board consisting of local authority representatives.

He was able to support his case by drawing attention to a number of weaknesses in the present system. London Transport are particularly vulnerable to strike action or the threat of it and, their efficiency, as far as it can be measured, may well be below that of the best municipal undertakings. The procedure of the Commissioners is, as Mr. Morton says, elaborate, lengthy and costly. Nationalization under the Transport Act, 1947, was halted at an intermediate stage, so that the bus companies taken over by the B.T.C..have remained at the anomalous stage of partial digestion ever since.

Complete Monopoly

Mr. Morton has greater first-hand experience of local government than most people, so that what he has to say on the subject must be heard with respect. Lacking his special knowledge, the general public may feel that the performance of their elected local representatives in other fields inspires little confidence in their ability to run an efficient and economical transport service. If London Transport are to be superseded, one hopes the new organization will be different from what Mr. Morton proposes. There is a touch of the macabre in his idea that the railway-dominated B.T.C. are best suited to have a complete monopoly over long-distance passenger services by road.

Whether Mr. Morton was serious or not in his sugges tions, he has set off a train of arguments that may have a permanent, and not necessarily beneficial, effect upon all future discussions on passenger transport. It can safely be said that none of the R.H.A. resolutions will have a similar effect in the goods transport field. Hauliers may welcome this. They have had more than enough of controversy in their time. Happy is the industry that does not make news. If hauliers find it necessary to sheathe their swords for lack of argument, it can be a healthy sign.

There may be a political parallel to be drawn. Publica tion of the R.H.A. resolutions almost coincided with the issue by the Conservative party of their latest policy statement "Onward in Freedom." It is a pleasant piece of rhetoric, but contains few promises, except to interfere as little as possible with the efforts of the public to improve their own lot.

On the other hand, the more frequent publications of the Labour party have all had their quota of 'proposals, although many of them have been expressed in vague terms. It might be thought that the party with more to say for themselves might attract more positive support. Instead, the discussions on policy have spotlighted the divisions within the Labour party, and the Conservatives, without appearing to do much to help themselves, seem to be gaining strength.