Talk will not sell more tyres
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THE LOSS of 2,400 jobs at the Michelin factory in the Potteries is tragic, but what good would a Parliamentary emergency debate on the question have done? Hot air may inflate tyres but it does not sell them. With the demand for tyres reduced by longer life, the lower output of vehicles, and severe and sustained financial losses, retrenchment is inevitable. Only the revival of the economy will reverse the trend — unless, of course, the Government insists that all vehicles should have at least eight wheels, with twin tyres at the rear, and that roads in winter, if treated at all, should be gritted with broken glass. But if local roads continue to deteriorate at the present rate, the sales of tyres should improve substantially. County surveyors who know what they are talking about are strong supporters of the CBI's and TUC's urgent pleas for greatly increased expenditure on roads, among other essential public works, to avoid even higher costs in the future. Under pressure the most the Government will undertake is to look at the backlog of public works and set up a working party to examine the cases put up by the employers' organisations and the unions. With just one more shove the buck will pass into oblivion.