Eddington will jet in as blue skies thinker

Andrew Clark
Thursday March 17, 2005
The Guardian

The outgoing chief executive of British Airways, Rod Eddington, is to advise ministers on long-term sustainable transport policy in Britain - while commuting from Melbourne, Australia.

When he retires from BA in September, Mr Eddington will live in Australia but will travel to London regularly to counsel the Department for Transport and the Treasury on the impact of transport decisions on Britain's productivity and stability beyond 2015.

His appointment was greeted with raised eyebrows among transport experts, who pointed out that the prime minister already gets advice on "blue-sky" transport thinking from the former BBC director-general Lord Birt. Senior fig ures in the transport industry suggested that Gordon Brown and the transport secretary, Alistair Darling, were keen to build an alternative policy power base to rival the Downing Street strategy unit.

In his budget speech, the chancellor said transport expenditure had doubled since 1997 and would rise by a further £2.4bn this year. Against this background, Mr Brown said it was "right to examine Britain's long-term needs and priorities" with the help of Mr Eddington.

During his five years running BA, Mr Eddington has made unfavourable comparisons between transport infrastructure in Britain and in his previous homes, Australia and Hong Kong.

In a speech to the Aviation Club he attacked Britain's historic culture of "managed decline" and asked why the high level of public debate was not matched with decisive action.

Speaking at BA's annual results presentation last month, Mr Eddington said Britain's transport infrastructure was in urgent need of investment: "If businesses are to survive here, if the quality of people's lives is to improve, the hard and soft infrastructure in the UK has to be maintained and advanced.

"In terms of hard infrastructure that means road, rail, ports and airports. In terms of soft infrastructure, the health system, the education system and the rule of law."

The Freight Transport Association said it was difficult to see what Mr Eddington could bring.

The association's chief executive, Richard Turner, said: "He seems to be being asked to look at what industry might need at some indeterminate time in the future. However, the whole of UK industry is wrestling with the weaknesses of our transport system here and now."

Environmentalists expressed dismay at the government's choice of an airline boss as an adviser. Tony Juniper, director of Friends of the Earth, said: "Commuting between Melbourne and London is hardly a shining example of a green travel plan.

"If his personal arrangements are to be an example of government policy, we're deeply worried."