To the Parish Pump I
Page 37
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HOPES for some crumb of comfort to the haulier from the Transport (Amendment) Bill finally evaporated on the third day of the committee age in the House of Commons. The Chinese punishrent known as the "Death of a Thousand Cuts" seems r be reserved for the haulier at each stage of his long niggle for freedom. Sir David Maxwell Fyfe first sed the term when the Transport Act was under iscussion, as a description of the process of attrition r which the haulier would be subjected by the British 'ransport Commission. He could have used it again rith equal accuracy to describe the decline and fall of le Bevins Bill.
Clause by clause, the Bill was ruthlessly dismembered y the standing committee until at 12.30 p.m. on April 10 le chairman, Mr. J. Diamond, Labour M.P. for the lackley Division of Manchester, finally pronounced .'e extinct, and Members trooped off to hear the Budget, hich was to strike yet another blow against road ansport. Only ceremonies and shadows remain. The recial report to the House of Commons is no more an the autopsy to confirm the physician's verdict, id the Bill's astral body, which passed through the ouse of Lords under the guidance of Lord Teynham, hardly likely to be resurrected.
, Like Prometheus
The haulier, like Prometheus, is still chained securely the rock and knows now—as he has probably known I along—that only a change of rulers will bring him lief. In spite of his praiseworthy and continued tempt to think nationally, he is forced, at least until e next general election, to become more and more mcerned with the parish pump.
He will find a good deal that needs to be done locally. le Road Haulage Executive, as it is never tired of rinting out, has acquired considerable interests in the ort-distance field and has no intention of allowing ose interests to lie fallow. This sort of competition e haulier must resign himself to accept. What is ore disquieting is the attempt by the Commission, or = local busybodies on its behalf, to carry over politics 3rn the national into the parochial sphere.
Large Sea Segment
Events in Hull provide a good example of what is ppening. Hauliers in that town stood to benefit bstantially from the Transport (Amendment) Bill, for e 25-mile circle, apart altogether from a large segment ,ng in the North Sea, includes no other town of any =.e. Although several permit revocations in the ;trict have been reconsidered, there remain many uliers wholly dependent on local work, which means all intents and purposes, work within the City of Ill.
One might have thought that the City Council, taking :y on these citizens forced to ply within walking ;tance of the parish pump, would have done everying within its powers to provide them with a livened. The Hull City Council takes no such narrow nil Since the clever folk in London have set up eir own transport business for the good of the Nation, ,!. council feels it can do no better than follow the id of Westminster and make every possible use of Road Haulage Executive.
The curious may care to look up the records and will find that the Hull City Council has a Socialist majority. The haulier does not care so much. about the political complexion as about the effect on his business of the intrusion of party doctrines into local government. He cannot be blamed for opposing candidates who do not disguise their bias in favour of his business competitors.
Other transport operators are also keeping a careful watch on the municipal front. The future of the two passenger area schemes so far launched by the Commission in the north-east and eastern areas depends a good deal on the attitude of the local authorities. So far, even Socialist-controlled Councils have shown no great willingness to give up their own cherished transport services for the doubtful benefits to be obtained from a grandiose scheme on paper Spirit is Willing
One or two local bodies have not been so commendably cautious. The Ebbw Vale Urban District Connell has even tried to force the Commission's hand by opposing the right of the South Wales Licensing Authority to hear applications for higher fares by companies in which the Commission has a controlling interest. So far the contention has not succeeded, but the spirit is willing even if the case be weak.
Hauliers and passenger operators alike should pay close attention to the local elections taking place between May 4 and 10. Although there will be no elections in the County Councils and Metropolitan Boroughs, 5,800 representatives are to be appointed in 83 County Boroughs and 309 Municipal Boroughs, on most Urban District Councils and some Rural District Councils. The last elections for the seats now vacant took place in November, .1947, for the Boroughs and April, 1948, for the County Districts. A total of 1,376 Socialists was returned. A large proportion of the other councillors elected belonged to no pOlitical party, and, generally speaking, are regarded as anti-Socialist.
Kicking Them Out
On the question of transport, it is difficult to imagine any operator not being anti-Socialist, whatever his general political convictions. • If the experience in Hull and Ebbw Vale be typical of local government with the Socialists in power, every transport provider and user—in other words, every member of the public—has at least one powerful argument in favour of kicking them out.
Several operators are themselves putting up for local office They may be reluctant to do so, but feel the necessity of adequate and accurate representation of the views of free-enterprise transport. Other operators should not fail to lend their aid in every way possible To hauliers in their present stricken state, a local elec tion is just as important as a General Election, They should seek out the candidates and obtain unequivocal answers, if possible in writing, on their attitude towards the nationalized transport organization. To the passenger operator the issue is equally important, and in many parts of the country he has the support of passenger associations, which should help him to mobilize public opinion. All hands to the parish pump!