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AT LAST: A REBATE FOR THE FRENCH
Page 10
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Anyone already exasperated by the injustices of European competition should take a valium now, The French government has just accorded the French road haulage industry the Holy Grail of transport: an essential user rebate. Unlike our own dear Chancellor, the French government recognises the stress fuel-buying businesses are under. Its decision to provide £259m of aid to hauliers and other businesses who are unable to pass increases in fuel costs onto their customers must be a welcome boost for French firms. And, with true Gallic panache, the French operators are saying this is not enough -they're demanding more support from their government.
What a contrast to the UK. French hauliers pay much less for diesel than we do, yet their government is taking action to help. Here we are being crippled by the everrising cost of diesel, yet our government refuses help. Rising fuel costs are one thing; Gordon Brown's 75% cut is quite another. Brown is obviously very proud of the state of the economy, but yet fails to realise that it relies totally on road transport.
He must be made to realise that in the UK we are no longer talking about government support to help this industry succeed. We are talking about government support to stop it from disappearing.
"Here we are being crippled by the ever rising cost of diesel
Now the French have taken the initiative -and have called on other EU states to follow their lead -the government can no longer ignore us. The standard defence that any aid would be 'non-competitive' is no longer justified. An essential user rebate could be easy and costeffective to implement and, given the huge taxes Brown would still reap from 23 million other motorists, it wouldn't cost a lot. Now all we need is action...
• Responses have been pouring in for our speed campaign, and it's really gathering momentum. If you believe trucks should be able to travel at up to 50mph on roads where it's safe to do so, then join us. We've printed a copy of our campaign letter on page 31 of this week's issue; simply fill it in and send it back to us, We'll pass your letters onto Alistair Darling and as for some action.