Mealy-Mouthed Mayor

Ken Livingstone's latest newspaper for Londoners carries an article about the Metronet collapse. On first reading, it is a welcome condemnation of PPP and Metronet's management, but a closer read reveals why we can not trust our fat-cat Mayor.

• The article tells us that the PPP was opposed by Ken Livingstone and "his experts in TfL" - conveniently forgetting that it was also opposed by the trade unions and the travelling public!
• It praises TubeLines as some kind of examplary Infraco! Both workers and passengers know that TubeLines only looks good because Metronet is even worse, as its record includes derailments, delays and other problems that put it to shame.
• Moreover, Ken's explanation for why TubeLines is better than Metronet is that it has put its work out to competitive tender rather than award the contracts to its constituent companies ie. the already-privatised company re-privatised loads of its work!
• There is no mention of bringing Metronet's contract back into public hands. No matter how much Livingstone says he favours this in private meetings with people who want to hear that, we should judge him on what he's prepared to say - and do - in public.

Ken Livingstone is not going to end PPP for us. That's something we - and the wider labour movement and London population that supports us - have to do for ourselves.