New minister might miss the next Industry Forum
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• by Melanie Hammond
Doubts have been raised as to whether Gus McDonald, the new Transport Minister, will attend the third meeting of the Industry Forum in September.
A Government spokesman was unable to confirm whether Lord McDonald would be present at the forum, saying: 'The Transport Minister's brief is still being worked out."
The news will anger hauliers who have already seen three Transport Minsters in three months—the most recent incumbent, Helen Liddell, was transferred to the Department of Trade and Industry just under three months into the post.
BHA director-general Steven Norris says: 'I very much hope that Lord McDonald will be attending personally on 6 September. If he doesn't, he will send all the wrong signals to the industry and I would hate him to go the same way as his predecessor. We clearly need somebody with some authority who can exert some pressure on the Treasury.'
Former media tycoon Lord McDonald of Tradeston was made a life peer in October 19g$ and is a relative novice to politics, serving just 12 months at the Scottish Office.
But Norris claims he has a reputation as a 'businessman and a fixer who is very close to Tony Blair" and that "he might be just the man we need".
Commenting on the reshuffle, shadow Transport Secretary John Redwood says: 'The appointment of a peer to this position means a downgrading of this subject and is a huge strategic error at a time when transport is a very important issue. '
Shadow Transport Minister Bernard Jenkin adds: 'Gus McDonald has made millions in commercial television and he may understand business better than his predecessors. But as to his knowledge of haulage, we'll have to wait and see."