New Transport Secretary will bring in fuel stabiliser 20 May 2010

Phillip Hammond, the newly appointed Transport Secretary, has wasted no time in setting out his own agenda for the future of the UK's transport and logistics sector.

Hammond has said that the new government will seek to bring in a fuel price stabiliser, which will ultimately lead to a reduction in taxes, should the price of oil rise. He also ruled out the introduction of road pricing, a key point in the Liberal Democrats' manifesto.

The reaction to Hammond's appointment has been generally positive, Theo de Pencier, chief executive of FTA, commenting: "We look forward to working with Mr Hammond on those pressing challenges facing the industry right now – from investment in infrastructure to finding workable carbon solutions and creating more capacity across all modes of transport."

However AA president Edmund King is more measured in his acceptance. "We have had 13 transport secretaries in 22 years, so on average they have served only about 20 months each," says King. "Perhaps we need a fixed term Transport Secretary as well as a fixed term parliament."

Author
Joihn Challen

Related Companies
Department for Transport

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