Transport Strategy
Opposition Day — [1(st) Allotted Day]
8:00 pm
Alistair Carmichael (Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Transport; Orkney and Shetland, Liberal Democrat)
The hon. Gentleman points tothe crux of the matter. I am not advocating a return to the pre-1986 position and I doubt that anyone in this House is. However, the way in which deregulation was carried out by the Conservative Government left no scope for local accountability. The passenger transport executives and the passenger transport authorities have been stripped of any meaningful power, which has had a severe impact on their standing within their communities. It is to that level of local accountability that we wish to return.