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2nd July 2008
Hauliers Protests In London
In the face of further
protests at the price of fuel by road hauliers in London
today, Scottish Conservative Shadow Transport Minister, Alex
Johnstone MSP has today spoken out in support of the
beleaguered industry saying, “I am well aware of the
concerns generated by the unprecedented rise in diesel
prices in the last few months. This has had a devastating
effect on an already hard pressed UK road haulage industry.
The Government has tried to blame this crisis on global oil
prices, but it is the differential in price caused by the
fact that we have the highest diesel taxes in Europe that
have really forced our truckers onto their knees.
“With the British economy
now running on empty, taxes are going up and the Government
is ever more reliant on borrowing; Labour couldn’t cut fuel
taxes now even if it wanted to. Gordon Brown continues to
dither over whether to scrap the planned 2p per litre tax
rise in October.
“Regarding the haulage industry
specifically, we are extremely concerned that a number of
Scottish haulage companies are going out of business or have
had to call in the receivers. One of the
key pressures on the haulage industry at the moment is the
unfair competition they face from foreign hauliers. Foreign
lorries are able to fill up their tanks with cheaper fuel at
the other side of the channel and do not have to pay UK road
tax (VED). Conservatives
are concerned that the Government’s tax policy is
disadvantaging British hauliers who often have better safety
and environmental standards.
“William Hague suggested
a “Britdisc” levy on foreign trucks as far back as 2000, but
the Government has consistently refused to bring forward its
own proposals. Shadow Transport Secretary, Theresa Villiers
MP has announced that we are exploring ways of taking this
proposal forward – consistently with EU law – so that we can
create a level playing field for UK hauliers.
“In addition to this, we
are also looking at other ways of supporting the Scottish
and UK haulage industry. For example, we will crackdown on
safety standards for all trucks on UK roads – so domestic
operators will no longer be undercut by other hauliers
taking shortcuts on crucially important safety rules.
“The Conservatives fully
appreciate the important role that haulage and supply chain
logistics play in our economy. We will continue to put
pressure on the Government to listen to the calls of small,
often family run, haulage companies who are clearly under
great pressure with rising costs and facing unfair
competition from abroad.”
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