Outlook Standing firm: roomen strikers Ken rightly made she future of Lone Livingstone don Underground the foremost issue of his Mayoral campaign. don Manifesto that reflects the wishes of Londoners.
The catalogue of failings that became the Ladbroke Grove dis track cannot be allowed to take over the tube The government's Public Private Partnership is, in the words of the three rail unions united "an expensive folly that will fail to meet the needs of Tube users". this is way co per coat of tube users believe that Underground supported by public funding and nies.
It is hard to find out who actually supports tube privatisation, apart from Blair, Brown, Prescott and the fat cats who will get the cream of the prolits. Kven the Parliamentary Transport Select Committee, majority New I ahour, was forced to recognise "that the Treasury rules have forced the adoption of PPR compromise, when other finanmore effective."
Which is a polite way of saying Railtrack and others will cost over £8 billion more than merely borrowing the money for investment directly. Throwing away all dOCT remove the current uncertainty funding it was meant to Too we But at least the service will improve. No such luck. Whilst warned that fares will have to pay for Railtrack's profits, can already see Railtrack's record on the mainline railways. Delays have risen, broken rails are up by 21 per cent. and other standards of maintenance have fallen, leadpassenger complaints reaching record levels. The only thing that continues to improve is the value of Railtrack shares.
La recent hustings BECCUES for the Mayoral candidate selection, organised by the rail defend the government position. She at least had the bottle to turn up whilst Frank Dobson round the corner in a private She made two claims - firstly that there was no other option for that the tube was not being privatised at all.
On the first noint it is true that the government interpretation of Treasury rules makes other options impossible. But, of course, it could always change its so with the decision to issue bonds to fund the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
And the second point got a clear response from the six hun dred tube workers. Whatever the government says about who ultiwill be transferred to the private And the experience of mainline Tall what will be in store for them - a consistent drive to maximisc Tube workers have been saying it loud and clear for ages! profits by cutting wages, jobs and conditions. This is why the rail union lead. ers campaign of polite lobbying combined with a more forthright campaign based on the rank and and why all socialists should be SHICHE Against Privatisation. Condon campaign is right to call Cicarly, the unions' on the government to "think again". The determination of must be made a central part of that campaign.
But it would be wrong to put all overe ken livingstone to be sue- in that basket. Even cesstul in winning the nomination and even if London abour members vote to make a halt to tube privatisation part of their manifesto there is no guar. antee that this will be position toat gocs 04a 0 the election. Tube workers have to maintain their independent political campaigning prepare for industrial action, if force the govern ment to back down. ple as possible, he asked his