And the new Secretary of State for Transport is Philip Hammond another loser who will not be adding a smile to the face of this industry.Hammond is a colourful character who featured it would seem,due to the due diligence of Kelvin Mackenzie of the Sun in the expenses scandal,claiming for a London house when a regualar train service used by Kelvin himself,a constituent,would have got him to work on time like everyone else.
Philip was a budding star at the TREASURY seems he has now been dumped at TRANSPORT,interesting.
Our Road Haulage industry is a respectable industry I do not believe we should have to contend with someone of Hammond’s questionable character as Secretary of State for Transport.
lets remember what they said before they got to power a 50mph limit for lorrys where its 40 now
and a 10p a litre temp tax cut in fuel… 
cameron said the days hes in office things will change… and boy they did… it started to hail like hell in essex!!! now thats a change from summer 
we got snow up here. you really do have to wonder if that is a sign of cold times ahead
scanny77:
we got snow up here. you really do have to wonder if that is a sign of cold times ahead
No it’s a result of global warming for which the new minister for climate change will be introducing much higher road fuel taxes in the near future and an increase in VAT on domestic fuel to reduce our dependence on our central heating during the summer months 
Road Transport.Com have just reported the appointment of Hammond as Transport Secretary and as I did used the net for info,but RT.Com doesn’t think it necessary to mention his keeness on expenses, must be a ‘we’ll kiss your ■■■■ Secretary’.
Oh goody …at last we get someone who knows about vehicles… hang on… sorry… I though it said Richard Hammond (Top Gear) 
I thought it was a reasonable appointment in comparison to some of the previous post holders.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7635058.stm
Transport has always been the poor relation when it comes to ministerial posts in either party.
Read somewhere that he will be exploring electronic pay-as-you drive charges for lorries - to ensure that foreign lorries have to pay to use UK roads as well as domestic lorries - and make more of a level playing field for road use.
Wheel Nut:
I thought it was a reasonable appointment in comparison to some of the previous post holders.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7635058.stm
Transport has always been the poor relation when it comes to ministerial posts in either party.
FFS what a shower of ■■■■■ them lot have been, it strikes me its just a temporary position to shove one of your muccas into untill something better comes along.
Fly sheet
The poor old lad’s and lasses of the cabinet, have taken a 5% pay cut,what a fine example to set.
bubsy06:
Read somewhere that he will be exploring electronic pay-as-you drive charges for lorries - to ensure that foreign lorries have to pay to use UK roads as well as domestic lorries - and make more of a level playing field for road use.
That’s probably in addition to increased road fuel taxes and he’ll probably charge us all twice as much in pay as you drive charges here than they pay on the continent (M6 toll for example) so the ‘level playing field’ will just probably mean more uk and uk-continental freight going by train instead of by road which has always been both the Lib Dem Lab and Con policy over the years. They’re all just one big zb Con party and that name would save a lot of wasted space writing all the other bs names for them.
think we can all get ready for some tough times, i was daft enough to think the tories would never gain power again in my life time, after the madness of thatcher but i spose theres enough people of voting age not old enough to remember those days? it could really only happen here, we’ve just had three years with an unelected pm, now with not only got a new unelected pm but also an unelected government!
paul b:
think we can all get ready for some tough times, i was daft enough to think the tories would never gain power again in my life time, after the madness of thatcher but i spose theres enough people of voting age not old enough to remember those days? it could really only happen here, we’ve just had three years with an unelected pm, now with not only got a new unelected pm but also an unelected government!
are you an ex-miner by any chance?
no but i moved to a mining village before the pit was shut which of coarse is in sheffield where the lunatic also managed to shut all the steel works never to reopen! on the bright side all the manufactoring industry has gone, anything of any remote value is owned by foreign companies so theres not much left for these new public schoolboys/tories to desimate!
paul b:
theres not much left for these new public schoolboys/tories to desimate!
Labour is as bad these days, many of the outgoing cabinet were also public schoolboys (or girls).
Paul
paul b:
on the bright side
I think I used to load out of there, a long time ago.
Looking at that list of wastes of space,(12 in the last 20 years), who have held the post, really highlights the importance that Government attach to this industry. Ruth Kelly,s most notable feat during her time in Parliament was to have 4 kids. Most of whom she breastfed during debates . As for Prescott, Darling. “Wee Doogie” Alexander, and Lord zbin Adonis, I dare not post what I think about them. I,d have the SAS coming in through me front winders. 
Maggie had a job to do clearing up after Labour back then,people got hurt it wasn’t pleasant,now Ant & Dec have another clear up job after Labour and once again people will get hurt.I just hope it’s none of you.
paul b:
think we can all get ready for some tough times, i was daft enough to think the tories would never gain power again in my life time, after the madness of thatcher but i spose theres enough people of voting age not old enough to remember those days? it could really only happen here, we’ve just had three years with an unelected pm, now with not only got a new unelected pm but also an unelected government!
You’ve been a bit selective with your memory there.The fact is the miners and everyone else in industry were offered more by the Tories under Heath than they ever were by Wilson and Callaghan and it’s the battle which we every union,not just the miners,had to fight and lost with the so called Labour Party under Wilson and Callaghan,after Scargill was stupid enough to get Heath kicked out of office against the better judgement of the NUM’s leader Joe Gormley,which led to the collapse of the Labour vote in 1979 and the rest is history and I’m old enough to be one of those who could have voted in that election but I did’nt and it seems that it’s just as much of a waste of time to vote these days.Thatcher was just a continuation of what went before under Wilson and Callaghan.But the fact is we would’nt have had an unelected government IF the Tories had formed a minority government because they did actually get more votes than Labour even if the northerners can’t,or don’t want to,understand the figures.
paul b:
no but i moved to a mining village before the pit was shut which of coarse is in sheffield where the lunatic also managed to shut all the steel works never to reopen! on the bright side all the manufactoring industry has gone, anything of any remote value is owned by foreign companies so theres not much left for these new public schoolboys/tories to desimate!
Selective memory again Paul. British Steel was morphed into Corus.
Corus was formed on 6th October 1999 through the merger of British Steel and Koninklijke Hoogovens.
That was 2 years after John Major and 2 years into Tony’s labour rule. During that time the Indians were also given Jaguar and Land Rover. Rover was given to firstly the Germans and then to China all under Labour. Margaret has not been in any government role since 1990
On April 2 2007, Corus became a subsidiary of Tata Steel India.
I voted for the Conservatives and the Conservatives won the election with 307 seats, 308 if the Malton vote goes there way. If it was a football match the team with the most goals wins that match.
Con /Lib Dem have a majority. Lab / Lib Dem would still be short of important seats without hoping the smaller parties could join them.
i think my selective memory must be brought on by the fact if you drive round sheffield it’s now very difficult to find any trace of brittish steel but hey not to worry they’ve built meadow hall which has provided 200 public service jobs, ok 180 of those jobs are filled by eastern europeans but i’m sure it will all work out in the end as i’m sure it will when tata shut the aldwarke steel plant in rotherham, 5-6 thousand jobs will go but look at the land that will be left, we could get a euro grant and build 400 small industrial units that nobody will rent because nobodies got any work!
i really don’t know why they bothered with an election, they might just as well of gone to the local getlemens club and sorted it out over a few cigars and brandy’s, brown could’ve said “look boys, i’ve had a good run and made a few bob, i’ll step down and you two sort out who’s gona be number and number two?” ok nobody in the country actually voted for a torie/lib dem alliance to rule but does that really matter? after all we are only the general public, just sheep in need of a shephead.
we should run a pole on here on the new records that will be set, i’m going for a 20% interest rate and a 25% basic tax rate before the end of 2012 anymore bidders?