This week I will be looking at the speeches at the Labour Party conference to see how green Gordon Brown and the Labour party really is. While the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives are forthright about going green (even if some of the ideas are silly)
I may be wrong but it seems as if Labour is fading from bright green to a distinctly faded bland colour.
In our industry the Government says it wants to encourage bio-diesel but then gives a paltry incentive that only brings the price in line with diesel. Bio-diesel is difficult to come by, particularly outside London, and it requires more frequent vehicle servicing.
If Brown is serious about bio-diesel – and he should be – he must give a much greater incentive for the haulage industry to adopt it.
Another example is the introduction of the most environmentally friendly trucks - Euro 5 vehicles. Germany gave its hauliers a good incentive to buy these vehicles, by giving a substantial discount on the truck tolls. As a result many operators have brought Euro 4 vehicles, despite the higher price tag.
Here the Government has just grudgingly given a £500 incentive. That helps but it is too little, too late.
Perhaps Gordon reckons that green taxes are not popular with the voters. Given the polls for the Conservative Party, he might be correct.