Privatisation

The PPP fiasco

In 2003, the Labour government imposed its “Public-Private Partnership” policy on London Underground, in the face of huge public opposition, trade union resistance, and mountains of rational criticism of the policy. After four years of derailments, cock-ups, late starts to the train service as engineering works overran, the PPP began to fall apart, as Metronet — one of the private Infrastructure companies (Infracos) — went into administration. The other, Tube Lines, would follow it back into public ownership three years later, spelling the end of the PPP. This extract from Janine Booth’s book...

Pensions to be privatised?

Leaked Whitehall documents have revealed that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is considering saving money by privatising the delivery of the state pension. The restricted document, seen by The Guardian newspaper, is a review into how Iain Duncan Smith’s department will implement the £2bn of cuts which are to be made to its operational budget by 2016. Under the proposals, the state pension could be administered by private companies such as G4S, Circo and Capita, all of which currently administer government services and have been beset by innumerable scandals. As recently as December...

Fighting privatisation, defying the law

Solidarity continues our series of our extracts from Janine Booth’s new book, Plundering London Underground: New Labour, private capital and public transport 1997-2010 . By the beginning of 2001, the government and Tube bosses were pressing ahead with preparations for the Public-Private Partnership, and recently-elected London Mayor Ken Livingstone, elected on a platform of opposing the PPP, was tacking towards compromise. But Tube trade unions, RMT and ASLEF had balloted members for action, and members of both unions voted Yes. But before the first strike was due to take place, the government...

The Tube, 1863 to 1979

Janine Booth’s new book, Plundering London Underground: New Labour, private capital and public service 1997-2010 examines the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), which was dreamed up, and imposed, but also faltered and collapsed, within the term of Blair and Brown’s Labour government. One key “justification” for the PPP was that London Underground was is such a poor condition that it required a massive cash injection. The argument went (wrongly) that only the private sector could deliver that investment. But how did London Underground get into such a woeful state? The first section of Plundering...

Plundering the Tube

As Tube unions, passenger and community groups launch the “Hands Off London Transport” campaign in the latest battle over the funding and future of the Tube, Janine Booth’s book Plundering London Underground , which documents the struggles against the introduction of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) from 1998, and its ultimate demise, is significant and timely. It is only three years since the demise of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) on the Tube, which saw billions siphoned off to privateers. Yet the Tube is now facing a new funding crisis. This government, with the full backing of...

Berlin reverses privatisation

On 3 November, 600,000 Berliners voted in a referendum to take back the local electricity production and supply into public ownership — 83% of those who voted. This is only 150,000 less than the combined vote of the Social Democrat and conservative Christian Democrat parties (who run the federal state of Berlin) in the last regional elections. The referendum was held after around 230,000 signatures had been collected by the “Berliner Energietisch” campaign, calling for democratic control over and public ownership of the energy supply (and of other basic necessities), 100% green energy, any...

Postal workers set to strike on 4 November

Postal workers will strike on 4 November in the Communication Workers Union’s first national strike since 2009. The immediate industrial fight is over workplace issues including pensions, but the wider context is the fight against the privatisation of Royal Mail. Postal workers should seek maximum coordination and joint support with other striking unions, including joint demonstrations, rallies, and mutual picket line support. Probation workers in the NAPO union also recently voted by an 84.4% majority for strikes, and could join the autumn strike wave.

Hand-out for mail share-buyers

Well-off people who bought Royal Mail shares in the government’s sell-off were able to reap an instant profit of more than £300 as soon as the shares started trading on 15 October and the shares rose from the 330p sell-off price to 490p. Big banks who bought larger slabs of shares have made bigger gains. The hand-out here to the rich and the well-off is not a mistake or misjudgement by the government. All the big privatisations by the Thatcher government had the same thing: share prices rose as soon as the shares began trading, and those who had bought in got immediate gains. This government...

Royal Mail: Keep it public! Fight on the principle!

Big investors, and a fair few middle-class people who can afford £750 to bid for shares, stand to make large windfall gains as Royal Mail shares are allocated and start trading, from 15 October. The government has deliberately set the share price low to get a successful sell-off, and the moneyed classes are confident that new private bosses will be able to get good profits by beating down postal workers’ pay and conditions. On 16 October the postal workers’ union CWU will announce the result of a ballot on strikes to win guarantees on terms and conditions. However, the union’s campaign so far...

Probation workers fight privatisation

On 19 September, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling announced that the majority of probation services across England and Wales would be “up for sale”. 70% of offender rehabilitation services will be privatised by Autumn 2014. The remaining 30% of probation work, which will comprise “high risk” only cases (offenders categorised as posing a significant threat to the community), will be placed under the control of 35 new government companies. The high risk work will form a new and hugely slimmed down National Probation Service. The shift from an accountable, public and largely successful public...

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