Fuel Duty - 23% Increase!

In perhaps one of the more unexpected developments in yesterday's 'Fiscal Incident' the Fuel Duty Escalator has returned!

Surprisingly the Chancellor elected not to bellow the 23% rise in Fuel Duty in his Common's statement, which looks like it will add 12p to the price of a litre of fuel from March next year.

According to the OBR this will net the Treasury £6bn a year.

Not a number to be sniffed at and potentially a source of good news for both passenger and freight operators.

Of course it is highly unlikely that the Chief Striver Soaker, Jeremy Hunt, will fold on this decision, once the Mail declares it a War on the Motorist.

Unlike say, every other Chancellor since 2011.

Iain Stewart elected TSC Chair

Iain Stewart, the Conservative MP for Milton Keynes South, has been elected Chair of the Transport Select Committee.

Iain was first elected MP in 2010 and he has served several times as a member of the TSC: from 2010-2013; 2015-2017; 2017-2018; in 2019 and in 2020.

Previous government roles have included Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Scottish Office (2020-22) and on several occasions as a whip.

The following Conservative MPs also stood in the TSC election:

• Jack Brereton (Stoke South)
• Jackie Doyle-Price (Thurrock)
• Katherine Fletcher (South Ribble)
• Chris Loder (West Dorset)
• Karl McCartney (Lincoln)

Jack Brereton MP, Chris Loder MP and Karl McCartney MP are existing members of the TSC.

Commenting on his win, Iain said:

“I am delighted to have been entrusted by the House to Chair this vital Committee and thank all who supported me.

"I have a real passion for, and experience in, Transport issues and I am very much looking forward to working with colleagues on the Committee to complete the existing programme of work and establish fresh inquiries.

“I want the Committee both to scrutinise and hold to account Government, agencies and operators, but also to do important horizon-scanning proactive work into future opportunities and challenges.”

With today's 'Fiscal Event' and continued uncertainty over the future of GBR there will be much for the new chair and his committee to scrutinise.

Frank Ward elected new GS of TSSA

Congratulations to Frank Ward, the new General Secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA).

This from the TSSA website:

Frank Ward writes:

Part of a family of railway workers my employment history started in BR in the West of Scotland in 1984. I joined TSSA on my first day when the paperwork at my induction included a TSSA membership application form which I was told in no uncertain terms had to be signed before I could begin my railway career! 

I worked as a booking clerk at various locations across Ayrshire before transferring to Glasgow Central as an enquiries clerk where I held a number of roles in our union as a workplace representative, Branch Officer and Divisional Council Officer. I started my employment with TSSA in 1995 as an assistant in what was then referred to as the National Negotiating Department and have held various responsibilities since then including member education, policy and legal advice, communications and political campaigning before taking on the role of Assistant General Secretary in 2012.

A Labour Party member for longer than I sometimes wish to remember I believe passionately that only a Labour government can deliver the opportunities, services and support that our communities so badly need and deserve if they are to thrive rather than divide.

For relaxation my wife indulges my passions for Celtic Football Club, horse racing and American basketball, baseball and ice hockey all because they feed her great passion for travel.

The industry will be watching closely to see if Frank maintains the somewhat polemical tone of his retired predecessor.