Political Commentary
Page 53
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Circumstances Alter Cases
By JANUS
Ophelia : "0 I What a noble mind is here o'erthrown."
SOONER or later • it was bound to happen. Lord Lucas, a Socialist peer who should be able to speak with some authority as he has just given upthe post of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, has now come to the conclusion that "there is only; one thing to do" at the moment, " and that is to appoint an impartial and independent inquiry to see what is the right pattern and the right policy " for transport:
Perhaps Lord Lucas was not listening when the railway companies and the road operators played endless variations on this theme five years ago. The demand for a public inquiry at that time received no encouragement from the Socialists. They replied either that they had had all the inquiries they wanted, or that the matter could safely be left to the "high court of Parliament " where they had a majority.
Conciliatory Mood It looks as if the'high court of Parliament will shortly be asked again to make some decisions on the future of transport. If Lord Lucas, in . his present conciliatory mood and relieved of departmental duties, now finds time to study the subject, he may come to agree that something should he done as quickly as possible. He may had it profitable to carry out an independent inquiry of his own. He is beginning to realize that strange things have been happening while he has been busy on some deed or other of knight errantry.
"We did not intend," he told his fellow peers, "to set up these nationalized boards in these Ivory Towers but that is what has occurred." So that is it, The Ivory Tower was just an awful aberration reared by the Socialists in a .fit of absent-mindedness. Somebody ought to have jogged their elbow Perhaps the grumblers and the vested interests had something, but if so they should have put .their case in language which an honest Socialist could understand, instead of shouting their heads off about the 'virtues of unfettered private enterprise.
Road and rail interests clamoured all the more boldly five years ago Ult.a public inquiry, and cheerfully agreed to abide by its findings, because they knew they would not get what they wanted. There was something to be said at the time in favour of their request. A warweary country had decisively rejected the old leadership and voted for a party that promised something new. Planning was in the fashion. A brave new world, it was thought, would arise from the ashes of the old.
Castles in Spain The Socialists not only refused a public inquiry. They rejected out of hand plans prepared by the transport interests with the encouragement of Lord Leathers and submitted to his successor. The reply from Mr. Barnes was the Transport AWL Instead of castles in Spain, he offered the Ivory Tower.
Lord Lucas is now forced to admit that the Socialist policy for transport has failed. The British Transport Commission has not achieved its task of formulating a pattern and a policy for transport. •Lord Lucas doubts if now it can ever do it. It has become "bogged down into a morass of operational detail, the like of which few of us on either side of the House ever thought," as he has declared.
It is in these circumstances that he advises an independent inquiry But this is not the time for such a step. Lord Lucas may be looking back wistfully to the golden age of the transport planner some 20 years ago. Road competition was beginning to erode the holy railway empire. The problem of too much trans port chasing too few goods and passengers [owned ahead and the Government set up various advisory bodies to reach a solution. The Road and Rail Traffic Act was one result of these deliberations. . Many other proposals, often excellent, were not put into effect. They still provide useful pegs for eloquence whenever the subject of transport is under discussion Too Rapid Development Undoubtedly, it was right in 1928 to set up a Royal Commission. The time for a comprehensive inquiry is when some novel factor is introduced and the situation threatens to get out of hand unless some kind of rational control is imposed. The trouble with transport at the moment is not that it is developing too rapidly, but that it is not developing at all. The only noticeable change is the growth in the number of vehicles operating under a C-licence, and practically all the authorities strongly deprecate any physical interference with this increase.
As things are going, it may soon be restrained, like the transport industry generally, by lack of resources. On this point, Lord Lucas talks sound sense. "At the present time we are falling between two. stools. The railways are not getting their fair share of capital investment and the roads are not getting any at all" The main problem now is not to limit transport so that it does not unreasonably exceed demand. The requirements of trade and industry are taxing the country's transport to the full, and at times of exceptional piessure such as the winter there is a growing danger that sufficient vehicles will not be available.
Imaginative Stroke There are indications that when the new Government has settled into its stride, quick action will be taken to deal with the transport problem. The appointment of Lord Leathers as, so to speak, Minister for energy and drive, with a seat in the Cabinet and, the task of coordinating transport. fuel and power, is a typical imaginative stroke by the Prime Minister Lord Leathers mid Mr. J. S. Maclay, the Minister of Transport, must aim to build up a system which will satisfy the customer without placing an increased burden upon the taxpayer. The job is not easy. Already the Railway Executive has petitioned Mr. Maclay for an immediate increase in rates to offset a wage .award of £14.2m. in a full year.
Another increase in railway charges, the third in little more than 18 months. would emphasize the gravity of the situation. If, as Lord Lucas suggests, the Minister and his advisers sit down to work out a policy with the help of any number of impartial seekers after truth. they might just as well be doing crossword puzzles. By the time they have made up their minds, there will be no transport left to organize.