Labour waters down haulage nationalization plans
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Instead of compulsory take-overs, a vigorous approach to buying out by BRS and British Railways
from our Parliamentary correspondent
FIRST HINTS of a watering down of Labour plans to take large sections of the road haulage industry into public ownership are revealed in the first draft of the Labour manifesto for the next general election.
The February manifesto was clear in that it left no doubt that to plan the national economy a Labour Government would need to "take over" profitable sections of individual firms in those industries where a public holding was essential, including road haulage. The revised document, albeit in embryo form, refers ambiguously to the need to encourage _"aggressive voluntary acquisition" of private sectors of the industry.
Precisely what the Labour Party planners mean by that phrase is still locked safely in their own minds.
A Labour Party spokesman said the draft manifesto was as yet little more than a collection of the studies undertaken by the various policy sub-committees. They had still to go through the discussion stage and the document might well emerge with a completely different form of words.
It would appear, however, that the drafters have turned their backs on compulsory take-overs. Instead they will encourage existing State concerns BRS and the railways — to adopt a vigorous approach to buying out private sectors of the industry. High on the priority purchase list would be firms with their own container depots, inland transhipment centres and those operating door to door transport services.
Railway subsidies
Labour transport plans also include bigger subsidies for the railways to develop private sidings for
individual firms to provi, direct rail freight servic from factory to consumer
The draft manifes commits the Labo Government to mounting "free fare" public transpc experiment in at least o major city. It also pledge nationwide system of travel for pensioners. Labour proposals f industrial democracy v require all firms over certain size to establish tv tier boards with provisi for the appointment of dir tors from the shop floor.
Industrial DemocrE Commission would be up to monitor this system