The Independent (UK) reports what is seen as a major victory by Ken Livingstone over New Labour: he looks as if he has got to keep an integrated London Tube system, by bringing in a New Yorker. But he may not have got the right to raise bonds. Financing the development is still vague. Chris Burford >>> Prescott climbdown over Tube sell-off 3 February 2001 John Prescott climbed down over his plans for London Underground yesterday and a fresh battle loomed over the partial sell-off of the National Air Traffic Control Service, throwing the Government's beleaguered privatisation policy into fresh turmoil. The Deputy Prime Minister was forced to reach a compromise with his arch political enemy, London Mayor Ken Livingstone, in an attempt to push through a watered down version of his public private partnership (PPP) idea. Mr Prescott has asked the capital's new transport commissioner, Bob Kiley – appointed by Mr Livingstone – to review government plans to sell off part of the Tube. The exercise could delay the sale by up to three months. News of the Government's climbdown over the Tube came on the eve of a critical meeting of Britain's air traffic controllers, which is expected to call for industrial action over Mr Prescott's other big privatisation plan. His blueprint for selling off 51 per cent of National Air Traffic Services has attracted even more opposition than his policy for the Tube, with critics fearing he is about to create a "Railtrack of the skies". Mr Prescott's retreat over his plan for the Underground comes after intense pressure from Mr Livingstone, unions and the Health and Safety Executive. Despite the Tube deal, the train drivers' union, Aslef, said it was determined to press ahead with a 24-hour stoppage on Monday which would cause massive disruption to the network. The union is demanding assurances over safety under any new management regime. Mr Prescott was in talks with Mr Kiley yesterday and Thursday, but it is understood that Tony Blair and the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, were heavily involved in forcing through a compromise. Mr Prescott refused to say whether the network would need extra public money while Mr Kiley's review took place. It is expected that Mr Kiley's study will not result in the abandonment of PPP, but the establishment of a unified management structure to avoid the problems that the main rail network has suffered. Mr Kiley, an American credited with turning round New York's subway system, has argued for a single coherent chain of command. Mr Prescott's strategy had been to split responsibility for the system four ways. The train operator would have remained in the public sector, while three other companies would have won 30-year leases to maintain different parts of the infrastructure.
