Mr Norman Cole: The hon. Member will remember that there is a space at the bottom of the driving licence for the proper holder to sign his name. It is open to the police to ask him to sign his name so that they may see whether the signature is identical with that on the licence.
Mr Norman Cole: My right hon. Friend, in moving the Second Reading of the Bill, made it clear that the Government would especially welcome the wisdom and experience of hon. Members in dealing with it through its various stages. I am sure that that is a viewpoint we all welcome. Quite irrespective of our otherwise party political differences, we can all join in doing our best to further something which, we...
Mr Norman Cole: That is just the point I was making. It is a cause for thankfulness that present-day casualties have not risen to the same extent as the number of vehicles; I am glad to hear it. But the figure of 5,000 has remained undesirably static for the last few years. It is not getting any better. With great respect to my hon. Friend, I would say that comparisons are odious when people are dead....
Mr Norman Cole: I hope, therefore, that we shall retain the powers, irrespective of how they may be defined, which are implicit in Clause 1, to help us to deal with the problem of dazzle in particular, and to help us, when the report of the International Committee on the question of lighting is available, to implement its recommendations, so far as the House wishes, by virtue of the powers in Clause 1....
Mr Norman Cole: In the 1953 Budget debate I referred to the Budget of that year as a springboard Budget. I want to stress today that the Budget which we are now discussing is evidence of the truth that the Budget of two years ago was a springboard for the people. The prosperity of our country is evident in what we see around us, and is reflected in this Budget. The springing forward of our people has been...
Mr Norman Cole: Yes, if I have the chance.
Mr Norman Cole: I can answer one question put by the hon. Member for Accrington (Mr. H. Hynd). Speaking for myself and, I believe, for my hon. Friends, I say that we do not think there should be nationalisation at all; therefore there is no question of where we should place the frontiers. But now that we have some nationalisation, we will try to make the best of it. May I remind the hon. Gentleman that if...
Mr Norman Cole: If the party opposite had not passed the 1947 Transport Act, the whole question of transport would not have come into politics and the industry would have been a healthier and happier one today. The hon. Member for Bradford, East (Mr. McLeavy) reminded me of a remark I made in a similar debate two years ago, when I said that hon. Gentlemen opposite would live to regret their words. I do not...
Mr Norman Cole: Yes, but from the arguments advanced by hon. Gentlemen opposite, it looks as though 36,000, less 3,600 is the number of ordinary vehicles. The hon. Member for Enfield, East (Mr. Ernest Davies) knows as well as I do that there are several classes, including the parcels fleet of over 4,000 vehicles, and a number of other special vehicles. In point of fact, of the ordinary vehicles, allowing for...
Mr Norman Cole: Is the hon. Gentleman referring to the list of last March—S.4—or all the lists?
Mr Norman Cole: If those vehicles had been sold—as we believed they would, under the 1953 Act—to hauliers all over the country, the transport situation would be much better than it is at the moment. Like most people who are firm and unrepentant believers in private enterprise, and who believe that this country is where it is today not because of nationalisation but because of the success of private...
Mr Norman Cole: The right hon. Member for Vauxhall (Mr. G. R. Strauss) must forgive me if I say that I believe that many private enterprise firms, big and small, could not afford to pay licences for vehicles which they were not running. I doubt whether that is true of the Commission.
Mr Norman Cole: No, I do not, and if the right hon. Gentleman likes to accuse me of advocating unfair competition against the Commisson, I accept it. The Commission will have about 10,000 vehicles running. Unlike private enterprise vehicles, their licences are not restricted to the depots from which they operate. They are able to switch their vehicles all over the country. The ordinary private haulier has no...
Mr Norman Cole: Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will allow me to correct him. I asked why should not the licences issued to the British Transport Commission be the same type of licences as are issued to private hauliers.
Mr Norman Cole: May I also add my welcome to this Bill and my congratulations to my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury? It is particularly welcome that the date on which this Bill comes into force should be 1st April. As I have said, I welcome the Bill, and it will be more than welcome to the 300,000 people affected. I am also glad to know that as soon as the Bill becomes law, the...
Mr Norman Cole: I appreciate the point which the hon. Gentleman is making, but has his constituent gained anything on the occasion of the previous pensions increase in addition to what he will receive under this Bill?
Mr Norman Cole: During the Committee stage, when we were discussing a similar Amendment, a great deal of the argument was based upon the fear that this was something which was going back on the total number of vehicles the Commission would hold. I have listened with interest today to the discussion on this Amendment. I have noticed that throughout the course of that discussion this point did not arise until...
Mr Norman Cole: I am well aware that they are supposed to be used for that.
Mr Norman Cole: But also, as far as I am aware, there is nothing to stop the Commission from using some of their general service vehicles and appropriating them to its contracts, if they obtain contracts. It will therefore, I think, be agreed that the 250 is an increase in the total number of vehicles at the disposal of the Commission.
Mr Norman Cole: That is quite obvious, but the point I am making is this. If the Commission is so successful with its contracts—and we are glad that it appears to be—if it has a pool of additional vehicles which would remain if this Amendment were passed, it then would not require to subtract from its number of general service vehicles to meet any contract it would obtain in the future. With all the good...