Keep taking the tablets
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We wouldn't normally think of David Green in the Charlton Heston role of Moses, but it is tempting. After his one-to-one with God (aka Tony Blair) the head of the Freight Transport Association has come down from the mountain with the (metaphorical) tablets grasped firmly to his bosom. And what's written on them? Well, Tony (sorry, God) only knows. Though we might know more come the Budget.
That's not to make light of the PTA's PR coup—for PR coup it surely is, and then some. We can't recall the last time a Prime Minister specifically asked to meet the head of a road transport trade association. And Green is far too savvy to try and bang on the PM's table. As he says himself: When you get into the Premier Division you can't use Third Division tactics."
Instead, he and FTA president Lawrence Christensen simply set out the case for "differentiation". In other words, treating truck operators as a special case on things such as VED and diesel tax. And the PM "did not reject it", says Green. Could this be the miraculous burning bush we've all been waiting for?
Mind you, CM is left wondering why the PTA should be summoned to meet the PM himself, rather than Gus Macdonald or John Prescott, though who better to talk to? Is Number ro (as it often does) about to take direct control? If it is, and Tony Blair actually intends to do something about the pain his government has inflicted on truck operators, then roll on March. Yea, truly it must come to pass...