Let’s talk politics. Who are you voting for? And who do you think is interested in winning your vote?
With the election fast approaching, we’ve been reaching out to the key players to find out what they have to offer the road transport industry. The answer, in most cases, is not a whole lot – not even the time to talk about it.
Just three out of six parties – Labour, UKip and Plaid Cymru – had the time or “capacity” to answer our handful of questions about pressing issues in the industry (and it’s important to note that they had a lot to say).
But with only one of the big three parties finding the time to talk trucks, it is perhaps unsurprising that parts of the industry are feeling increasingly neglected by their government.
The Conservatives, who were shown to be the industry’s top choice for 7 May election in a poll conducted at last week’s CV Show, were the worst offender, failing to respond to a single phone call or email (and there were a lot of them).
The Liberal Democrats did at least give us the time of day, but only to send over a page of generic policy spiel that didn’t relate to road transport, really. Yes they’ve invested in infrastructure during their pseudo-term in office, but what next? And what does that have to do with solving the driver crisis? Well, nothing.
The Green Party decided from the off they didn’t want to talk to us, but this one we could have anticipated.
Their manifesto did include some policies that hauliers would welcome with open arms: more safety equipment? Yes please. Mandatory on all new vehicles? Absolutely. Total banishment from towns and cities unless vehicles are fully decked out in said safety gear, with presumed liability in accidents thrown in? Umm. The Greens aren’t big on HGVs, so their decision to pass on an interview about how they planned to support them or win their hauliers' votes wasn’t a huge surprise.
What we did squeeze out of the parties makes for interesting reading, and you can see the full coverage in next week’s issue of Commercial Motor. But in this case, what wasn’t said is most conspicuous, the silence telling.
And so, excluding the parties who gave us their time, we must ask: if the new government doesn’t have the time or capacity to give ten minutes of its election campaign to road transport, what will that mean for its dedication to the industry and its commitment to keeping it rolling once it’s moved into number 10?