'Face the economic facts of transport life'
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Shadow Minister
A LIMIT must be set to the practice of putting environmental considerations above cost and the needs of trade and industry, warned Tory Shadow Tran7port Minister Marcus Fox last week. Otherwise the public paid—and it was about time that this was clearly stated, he said.
Mr Fox was speaking at the autumn Conference of the British Association of Removers, in London, and he commented that in all his years as an MP he had never received a complaint about the BAR or its members.
The public was, he felt, increasingly aware that road transport was the most reliable and economic form and he hoped that the influence of interested trade unions would not deter the Government from coming forward with its overall transport policy proposals. He hoped there would not be too much talk of integration, which usually meant poorer service for users.
Not much money was going to be available for any national activity, but redeployment of funds was still possible. Overmanning and subsidy were too prevalent in some sectors. There was too much undisciplined spending at national and Iccal level. It was time to face the implications of putting 25 per cent of all subsidy into a system which carried only 10 per cent of the traffic—the rail
ways. He added; "Let's be honest: rail will never be the major carrier again."
Echoing the words of BAR president Mr J. N. Tarsey, Mr Fox felt entry to haulage should be more closely controlled. It was not reasonable to allow anyone to start in goods or passenger transport without adequate financial resources or a proper base.
The ambitious road programmes of yesteryear were probably no longer valid, but road spending had to be concentrated on routes for commercial traffic—especially to the ports.
He rejected the plans to extend the Dock Labour Scheme, which would give dockers the means to starve the country out in a matter of days. "I don't trust them in that situation," he said.
Earlier, Mr Tarsey had called for more control of small vehicles—on 0-licence lines—and for a relief from the never ending stream of legislation, which it was impossible to comply with, Pledged Mr Fox: if he became Transport Minister he would seek to reduce .rather than increase transport legislation. The police had enough trouble trying to enforce existing laws—and anyway, our European partners took a much more cavalier view about enforcement than the British.