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Labour's transport plan: nationalize the over fives
Page 30
Page 32
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Party's conference votes for massive state ownership
from our political correspondent
• Nationalization of all road haulage firms operating five or more vehicles — virtually all the industry — became official labour policy at the party's annual conference in Blackpool this week.
The Labour leadership suffered its first defeat of the conference when delegates cast aside appeals by the National Executive for caution and voted overwhelmingly for an extreme resolution tabled by the Transport Salaried Staff Association and the National Union of Railwaymen.
Opposition transport spokesman, and former transport minister Mr Fred Mulley said the party leadership did not want to play the numbers game on this issue and be bound at this juncture by so specific a decision on the number of lorries operated by individual firms.
"The first reason is that we are aware in retrospect of the criticism made of the 1945 government when it took over • the road haulage industry and paid, in the view of many, excessive compensation for the lorries and so on it acquired from a number of small firms of this kind," Mr Mulley told delqates.
"Secondly, it is quite possible that one can deal with the problem by licensing or in some other way," he said.
Mr Mulley said there was no question about the intention of a future Labour Government to organize a publicly owned road and rail transport system, but he could not believe the conference wanted the NEC to formulate future legislation without discussing it with the TUC and individual unions involved in both branches of the industry, and the ports and shipping as well, Mr Milky promised that if delegates would leave the NEC a free-hand on this specific issue, the proposal relating to five lorries would be at the head of the agenda in any consultations which took place.
"It would be wrong to go into these studies and consultations having made up our minds on this rather important aspect."
Strong feelings
Th-• leadership was well aware of the. strong zeelings in the movement and the desire that whatever was done in the public ownership fi..ld they should not make the mistake of paying too much for the assets which may be acquired.
The NEC would prepare the necessary plans for future legislation as a matter of priority.
Two resolutions were before the conference. The first, demanding priority for public transport in all urban planning, recasting the grant structure, assistance with the revenue budgets of passenger transport services, rigorous re-examination of urban road building projects and radical reconstruction of transport finance to pave the way for free public transport, was accepted unreservedly.
The second, on which Mr Mulley had reservations, called for legislation to achieve a fully integrated publicly owned transport system including the controversial road haulage plan.
Moving this resolution Mr Walter Johnson, MP for Derby South, said that although there was some scope for directing, some traffic to the railways and the waterways, it was clear that road transport would be the dominant form of transport.
It was the longer distance and bulk traffic he wanted to see transferred to the railways. Mr Johnson called for a clamp down of road operators who persistently flouted the traffic and loading regulations for road haulage firms. But, he firmly condemned the young Liberal campaign for tampering with heavy goods vehicles.
Replying to the debate, Mr Mulley said there was general agreement in the party that radical measures were needed to solve the country's transport problems. He said they were not against the private car or the commercial vehicle as such. "We propose restrictions so that the community shall not suffer by the anti-social and selfish use of the vehicles — for example selfish parking and unloading."
Referring to bus lanes, Mr Mulley said, these were all too often very short and limited to short periods during the day.
"We have got to be much more drastic and if we want public transport to get through quickly, we have got to hold back the other traffic."
Enormous benefits
This could have enormous benefits on the financial side of public transport because it would drastically reduce costs.
Mr Mulley said the achievement of a fully integrated transport system was a complex problem.
The 1968 Transport Act was now in need of substantial amendments. In particular, although it did produce important help for the railways, it was quite clear that the railways could not be •xpected to work on a commercial basis.
"We have clearly got 1, -) go beyond what was done in the 1968 Act and for that we shall need new legislation," he said.
"We have to find ways and means of using the maximum potential of the railways to carry goods both in this country and between this country."
Mr Mulley pledged Labour to continue the fight to prevent lorries being allowed to be bigger or heavier. In a debate on public ownership, Mr Wilson made it clear that those firms based outside Britain but operating in this country would not escape a Labour Government's nationalization plans.
He promised a new industry Act applying to all multi-national companies operating in this country in exactly the same way as to British-owned firms.
This act would provide the Government with powers to provide support in the national interest to individual companies in return for a public shareholding; to seek agreement with companies over a wide range of matters including prices, profits, investment programmes, overseas trade and industrial democracy. The Government would be able to issue directives on any of these subjects.
The case for action within the road haulage industry rested not merely on Labour's total determination to redress the balance of Britain's transport between road and rail but also "upon the increasing realization that if we do not control the juggernauts and those who own them, they will control us".
Later Mr Fred Mulley told CM that
urgent talks would begin soon with the trade unions on the position of firms which might be tempted to escape public ownership proposals by registering abroad and, in EEC countries. It was proposed to meet representatives of the Road Haulage Association as soon as the House of Commons resumes. Mr Mulley said he did not believe that the West German government would be willing to issue licences to firms registering there, which were not genuine German companies. The Labour Party would be studying various aspects of the transport policy of the EEC before reaching firm conclusions.