Stobart warns of fuel duty threat
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by Miles Brignall • Edward Stobart, arguably the UK's best known haulier, is calling on Chancellor Gordon Brown to rethink the way the industry is being treated before it is wiped out by cheaper foreign competition.
Speaking hours before Brown failed to announce his plans for diesel in next March's Budget, Stobart said it was vital that the Government should be made aware that diesel price increases are leaving UK hauliers unable to compete. He wants several of the UK's larger hauliers, including himself, to meet face to face with the Chancellor (right) to press their case.
Stobart dismisses press reports that he is about to move his entire fleet to mainland Europe as nonsense—but he did warn that he would consider basing some of the 50 vehicles he uses for international work in Europe to take advantage of lower Vehicle Excise Duty, "Foreign hauliers are arriving in the UK having filled up abroad with 30% cheaper diesel—and they're taxing their trucks at a fraction of UK rates," he says. "The Chancellor needs to be told that in the long run this is only going to hurt the Treasury, as trucks filled up in Calais put nothing into its coffers."
Stobart is not saying if he has lost contracts to foreign competitors, but adds that he would not blame anyone for hiring a cheaper operation from abroad. All UK hauliers want is "a level playing field" to allow them to compete on equal terms.
Until now Stobart has been quiet on this issue, which has vexed thousands of hauliers across the UK. He says he has broken his silence in a bid to save the UK transport industry as a whole.
Asked if he would be prepared to send vehicles to some sort of protest, Stobart says he would not contemplate doing anything that would put his customer's delivery schedules at risk. But if a way could be found to get the message across that did not affect customers, he would seriously consider getting involved.
What is clear is that the Government might listen to him. Stobart enjoys a special relationship with the public—his fan club turns over more money than most haulage businesses.