Dear Member,

Get voting! No, not for that bunch in Westminster, for something that actually can help your career. If you are a MILT or above you have a wee while yet to take part in the CILT AGM vote, so exercise your democratic rights. There’s a nice button somewhere below or click here.

Talking of elections, one of the ideas that bubbled up in this campaign – in fact the only idea that’s stuck in my mind – is that we might get a Cadbury law. Cadbury’s, as British an Institution as cricket, warm beer and net curtains, is now owned by Kraft, a US company. And we Brits have got a bit cross about it.

Now, being married to a Californian, I am entirely comfortable with being owned and run by Americans! But it has got us all questioning foreign ownership.

Remember Connex South Central? My local station was the romantically named Gypsy Hill when I lived in London – and it was served by French owned Connex South Central – which had the distinction of being the first rail company to lose its franchise.

What I remember most about them was a train being cancelled because it was infested with fleas (honest) and the burley South London staff having to dress in the company’s bright yellow and blue uniforms.

When Connex spectacularly fluffed its franchises there was certain smugness from some commuters, who just didn’t like the thought that the French were exploiting our rail network for profit.

Ten years later and it’s a very different internationalised transport world we live in. Why, UK companies run trains in Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Hungary… In fact that’s all just one company, Arriva.

The Cowie family set up its first motorbike dealership in Sunderland in the ‘30s, before getting into car dealerships and then buying its  first bus company, Grey-Green (a London based company) in 1980. The Cowie Group, as it became, grew ever larger, taking over the British Bus Group even in 1996................more

David Jinks  Editor
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