Bridget Fox condemns more Labour waste

10.29.06am GMT Mon 21st Mar 2005

Liberal Democrat transport campaigner Bridget Fox has condemned the astonishing waste and failure of the Labour Government's PPP for the London Underground.

Bridget says "Liberal Democrats opposed the PPP from the start. We were told the PPP would get private money in to improve the tube and make things better for Londoners. Instead we see more public money generating private profits – while basic services, like escalators at Highbury & Islington are still neglected."

This month the House of Commons Transport Committee reports that government spending on the Tube - disregarding the cost of the Jubilee Line extension - had risen more than twentyfold from £44.1m in 1997-98 to £1,048m in the current financial year. MPs concluded that the privatisation of the Tube has been a costly exercise not justified by its few added benefits.

Meanwhile private companies Metronet and TubeLines have secured 30-year contracts worth £15bn and combined profits of almost £100m.

Bridget says, "This is money that should be improving services for passengers not profits for shareholders. If you set out to design the most expensive and inefficient way to finance the tube, you could not do better than PPP. Meanwhile Islington's residents and businesses face inflation-busting fare rises. We deserve better."