Three
years ago John Prescott planned his Public
Private Partnership (PPP) for the London Tube.
This involved breaking up the current network and
franchising its parts to private firms.
I sat on the committee that studied this PPP for
the Tube. The plan was badly flawed, so I opposed
it.
First, it repeats mistakes from the
Conservative's railway privatisation.
Second, it is financially disastrous.
Three years on, my concerns remain. This PPP
could be a Railtrack below ground: chaos for
passengers and an expensive nightmare.
So I've redoubled efforts to force a re-think. |
I
recently met Bob Kiley, the American who turned
round New York's subway and who Ken Livingstone
appointed to run Transport for London. He was
sympathetic to the Liberal Democrat alternative
to the PPP.
I also cross questioned the Chancellor on the
issues of the Tube at a Treasury Committee
hearing. Mr Brown's poor performance convinced me
the opposition is justified in using the courts
and ballot box to seek a change.
This is so important it needs a cross-party
campaign to defeat this PPP.
I'm pleased to see Conservatives dropping their
support for privatising London's Tube.
It's time for people to set aside their
differences and campaign before it is too late. |
