Labour Party to "Deal with C Licences "
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THE Labour Party Executive, the Trade Union Congress General Council and the Unions in the transport industry are to get together to hammer out Labour's legislative policy on transport before the next general election.
This was decided by the Party conference at Scarborough last week, when they remitted to the National Executive a resolution calling for a fresh legislative policy. C-licence holders are to receive unwelcome attention.
Mr. Herbert Morrison, deputy leader of the Party, suggested that they should not be too specific at the present moment before having full discussion with the interested bodies, but he said that their plans would include an integrated transport system similar to that operated under the last Labour Government.
On the question of C licences, Mr. Morrison declared that they must "deal with this problem within proper limits and over a proper area."
During the discussion, Mr. W. P. Webber, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, referring to conditions in the industry as a whole, said: "It is handicapped by the Tory Government allowing unlimited C licences, and this has taken the cream away from the railways and resulted in a shocking waste of transport."
Mr. Ernest Davies, M.P., also referred to C licences, saying: "We made some
mistakes in our last government. We paid too much for railways and gave far too much to private-enterprise road haulage. We failed to take over C licences and we did not reap in sufficient legislation to take over road passenger transport.
Control of C Licences
"We must have some control of C licences and control road passenger transport. We must at the same time enable the railways to pay their way."
A strong policy for transport, he said, could drive private enterprise to the wall.
Mr. Morrison, after his reference to C licences, said that they were also 'a factor in the co-ordination of the transport system. There must be maximum economy in the operation of transport. The travelling public, management and workers in the industry must co-operate to that end.