Marching to the future?
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On i November -1936, 200
unemployed men arrived in London after spending almost a month marching the 300 miles from Jarrow in the NorthEast to protest at high levels of unemployment. Now, unless the government responds to calls to end Britain's punitive levels of fuel duty, another group of disgruntled protesters plans to echo the Jarrow March with a four-day goslow drive from Jarrow to London.
While today's protesters have the hucury of driving rather than walking, many of them will surely face unemployment if the government doesn't listen. But whether any further protest can alter the mind of a government that has pledged not to be forced into policy changes remains to be seen.
If the convoy does go ahead, a further question hangs over public support. While the People's Fuel Lobby is looking for an across-theboard cut in fuel prices—which is bound to be popular—the public at large is hardly likely to line the streets to wish the truckers well, as it did in 1936.
The government still has the option of giving an essential user rebate, and preferential treatment for key users is beginning to look increasingly likely as one of its cheaper climbdown options. Fresh impetus has been injected into the "Brit Disc" scheme as conservative Lords propose an amendment to the Transport Bill to include it; and many believe a reduction in VED rates for large vehicles is also on the cards.
Only time will tell. In the meantime we can only hope that Jarrow 2000, if it goes ahead, will be more effective than that desperate trek back in 1936.