On what was a nice sunny morning Boris was looking pretty chuffed as he’s probably entitled to after facing so much undisguised scepticism and cynicism from those of us who never expected the project to go anywhere.
Ever gracious, he refrained from telling us naysayers how mistaken we had been.
However, as Dave mentions, he was miffed at not having had a note of praise from the Guardian for ending the Tube PPP with the impending nationalisation of Tube Lines. What Dave’s been decent in not mentioning is that his telling off was the result of me chiming in and praising Boris for scrapping a scheme that Londoners overwhelmingly rejected when they cast their votes back in 2000’s inaugural Greater London Authority elections.
As I noted the other day, the dogmatic determination to push through the scheme means the law doesn’t quite seem to have a mechanism for abolishing the role of the PPP Arbiter.
Despite our legislators apparently never considering the prospect of PPP ending anytime soon, the collapse of Metronet and Team Boris’s deal to acquire Tube Lines means that the curtain is set to fall on a project I suspect will become a textbook example at how not to involve the private sector in the delivery of essential public services.
A cautious soul yesterday warned me not to be too thrilled at the nationalisation of Tube Lines but, while I’m still not clear quite where the money is coming from, I welcome the simplicity and greater transparency which must surely follow TfL becoming responsible for all aspects of the Tube’s performance.
The era of public rows and blaming third party shareholders for robbing Londoners is, thankfully, now at and end and Boris alone will have to carry the can for any future delays and failings.
Trivia fans might like to note two quick facts:
– in the ten years since devolution, London has nationalised three private finance companies – Tramlink, Metronet and now Tube Lines (though Boris loses points for selling off East Thames Buses)
– like the Greater London Authority, Tramlink celebrates its 10th birthday this month.
