UKWA chairman calls on Tories to honor pre-election pledge

Derrick Potter, chairman of the United Kingdom Warehousing Association (UKWA), has called on the Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond, to fulfil the Conservative Party's pre-election pledge to introduce a fuel duty stabiliser, at the earliest opportunity.

In June's emergency budget, Chancellor George Osborne stated that the potential impact of the fuel duty stabiliser is to be the subject of an investigation the results of which will be made known after the summer.

Speaking at the UKWA's recent AGM, held at London's Dorchester Hotel, Derrick Potter commented: "While I welcome the investigation in to the fuel duty stabiliser scheme, the freight logistics industry needs decisive action if it is to be able to plan for the future with any kind of certainty.

"Unfortunately, some of the flagship policies of the pre-election Conservative manifesto appear to have been quietly dropped or at least diluted since the party's successful courtship of the Lib-Dems.  It would be particularly regrettable if  the Tories' do not follow through with their pre-election commitment to a fair fuel stabiliser."

Derrick Potter also criticised the decision to go ahead with the planned increases in fuel announced by the last Government that are due to come in to effect in October this year and January 2011.

"The price rises coupled with the increase in the rate of VAT will make it even harder for UK hauliers to be competitive with their foreign counterparts," he said.

"The fact is that the UK needs a strong haulage industry if it is to compete on the world stage. I hope the new Government has a better understanding of this than the previous administration."

One of the most influential figures in the UK logistics industry, Derrick Potter is founder and executive chairman of The Potter Group, which provides a complete range of logistics services and solutions. He is also a director of the Rail Freight Association, a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, an Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Transport Administration and a member of the Advisory Forum of the University of Hull Logistics Institute.

Founded in 1944, UKWA has over 600 members providing storage and third party logistics services, and represents the industry to both commerce and government.