IN YOUR OPINION
Page 79
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The editor is always pleased to receive letters on all aspects of the road transport industry. Contributors must Include their names and addresses, though the published letter may appear under a nom de plume where Specifically requested. Views expressed in letters published are not necessarily those of the editor.
Nationalization ?—and How?
IT is an accepted fact of life among both those in the I industry and among those in Parliament that the Labour Party means to nationalize the road haulage industry. The merits of the case arc unimportant to the Socialists; they propose to do it as a matter of political dogma, regardless of the consequences to the economy. They have a rooted objection to the industry as a competitor to the state-owned railways. They wish specifically to take over the industry as they did in 1945. One need only remember their bitter opposition to the freeing of road haulage under Sir Winston Churchill's second Government and the remarks frequently made in transport debates in the House of Commons to be aware of this faet.
Overlooking the Facts
The fact that, when Dr. Beeching became responsible for the railways, the average speed of freight throughout the railway system was one mile per hour is, to the Socialists, irrelevant to the problem. The fact that by road transport goods can be consigned to any part of Britain with the confident assumption that they will reach their destination within 24 hours and a stated time, is also considered immaterial. The fact that if our industry is to be able to earn currency from abroad only if it is competitive, not only in manufacturing techniques but also in transport techniques, is also considered to be beside the point.
The industry has long lived with the clear understanding of the political risk if a Socialist Government should ever govern Britain again. They are aware of the threat of nationalization. But are they? How? I await an answer to this question. My belief is that this time there would be no fair basis of compensation. Many owners and drivers have considered that their garages would be taken over by the state and that thcy would become civil servants. But would they? My belief is that the Labour Party would use Mr. Wilson's famous phrase and "take the lid off the B.R.S." or use the equally ambiguous phrase of "integration ".
No Compensation All that is required is the imposition of controls on the private side of road haulage and the freeing of the B.R.S. to take over the business thus lost. This would mean no compensation to owners--and unemployment for the men in the industry. I have no wish to misrepresent Mr. Wilson. I only ask him to come clean with the nation and with the industry and tell us of his intentions. I have sought this in Parliament and at public speeches. The country and the industry need to know.
House of Commons, London, S.W.1. DAVID WEBSTER, M.P., Chairman, Conservative Party Transport Committee