News

Eight years ago the road transport industry won the battle over the fuel duty escalator - but the government lived to fight another day. That fight kicked off again last week with the imposition of an extra 2p/litre on fuel duty. The Road Haulage Association's (RHA) and the Freight Transport Association's (FTA) last-ditch lobbying failed - very rarely does such late action succeed. Nevertheless, it was worth a go.

So, what happens next? More lobbying? Or less talk and more action? The  latter, in some form, is certainly what the founders of Transaction 2007 want. Looking back to the Park Lane protests of 1999, the likes of the FTA and the RHA will tell you that sustained lobbying, rather than direct action, is what convinced the government to step off the escalator.

However, Transaction and its key supporters, during the 2000 fuel protests, will tell you it was their action, and the ensuing bad press, that forced the government to offer concessions to the industry. In truth, both approaches played their part: the bad press meant the government had to listen to the associations' arguments.

And so Transaction wants protests again. MT has spoken to some of the better-known, larger fleet operators approached by Transaction for support and undertook a litmus test at the RHA annual lunch this week: all are genuinely frustrated by the increase, but few see any point in protesting, and then only if backed by the RHA (which has no desire to do so).

The reality  is that the government will not give back what it has taken away. The only way to stop the next 2p/litre hike is if the transport industry receives the absolute backing of all its customers and users - maybe then the government will listen.