Tory Big Guns on Transport
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FROM OUR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
BIG Tory guns are about to open up on the road haulage front. Their target: Mr. Fraser, Mr. Wilson and the State-owned haulage fleet. It has been decided that details of the growth of BRS since election day—and the increase in the railways' carriage and delivery fleet—should be put on the record.
Conservative transport leaders believe that the growth in BRS and its associates alone may have been from 12.000 to 17,000 vehicles. Questions in the Commons this week have sought to substantiate this--in particular how much of the increase has come from take-overs, and at what cost.
When the facts have been gathered the Shadow Cabinet is to decide a line of attack, to be taken up quickly in the new session, on the creeping growth of State road haulage.
A little-remembered speech from Mr. Wilson about not re-nationalizing every back-street concern is to be thrown back at Labour leaders with the challenge that the State is in fact strengthening its hold rapidly over the industry.
Leaders in the campaign will be Sir Martin Redmayne, Tory Front Bench spokesman on transport, and his young and able second in command, Mr. David Webster, MP for Weston-super-Mare.
One issue causing Conservative leaders particular concern is the growth of large groups in 'the road haulage industry.
It would only need the Transport Holding Company to make a bid for one or two of the biggest groups for the back-door nationalization threat to become a reality.
While a number of MPs on both sides see Mr. Fraser as a singularly inactive Transport Minister, it could be that he is using a " soft " approach to fulfil Labour's aims of winning a bloodless battle.
There are several points the Conservatives must watch in their attack, however. All the TI-IC take-avers have been on competitive terms and apparently have followed the best principles of free enterprise. The TI-IC itself would quickly become antagonized if the Conservatives suggested they were blindly following Labour's instructions.
One thing which may emerge out of this operation is the fact that the industry itself is not being as watchful as it might he. In any event, the transport front may become the scene of a big inter-party war in the corning session.