None so blind
Page 7
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Nobody disputes that a developing communications network is the basis upon which under-developed countries grow. The point has been made forcefully again this week at the Middle East transport conference in London. Why then is it that our political masters seem unable to grasp that the same principle applies to the growth of the economy in long-industrialised countries like our own?
Talk to an industrialist in Britain's North West and he will tell you that the excellent trunk-road network—much of it motorways—of Lancashire and North Cheshire is now fundamental to his competitiveness: he cannot visualise how the Lancs industrial belt ever managed without it. What a sad contrast is the situation in many other areas—not least in the crowded South East, where ton upon ton of freight inches along crowded, outdated highways.
In his article in CM last week, Ian Smith of Cardiff University attributed the sluggish economy of South Wales to lack of good communications. We can only hope that there are sufficiently enlightened politicians in the major parties to see the truth of his statement that, far from being a drain on the economy, roads vitally underpin the operations of industry. Their low priority in the eyes of government shows a failure to apply the policy which even the Far Left has been preaching: invest for growth.