Review
For every Londoner, the disastrous condition of London's underground system is a daily reminder of the political and managerial failures that have brought a public service to near collapse. Here is the full story from author of Broken Rails, Christian Wolmar.
Product Description
In 2010, without fanfare or much publicity, the PPP for the London Underground was quietly laid to rest. What had been touted as a £30 billion, 30 year scheme to revamp the Tube quietly collapsed when first one contractor, Metronet, and then the second,Tube Lines, pulled out of the deal. It had survived barely seven years, rather than 30.
This book, written in 2002 , sets out the intrigues, political machinations and private sector influence that led to the creationof the disastrous PPP. After winning the 1997 election, Labour realised that the Underground desperately needed refurbishment. However, under the self-imposed spending constraints, there was no money available and privatisation, the Tories’ idea, was ruled out. The Public Private Partnership was the chosen solution. Originally supposed to be entirely financed by the private sector, it ended up costing £1 billion per year of taxpayers money and proved an extremely expensive way of carrying out improvements on the Tube.
This book is an important summary of a disastrous policy which has cost the taxpayer billions and delivered very little of what was promised. By examining the intricacies of the deal and analysing the convoluted process that led to such an expensive mistake, Christian Wolmar’s book has enormous relevance today. It highlights the fact that complex deals like the Underground PPP, unfathomable to most people, are not necessarily either the best way of building or maintaining infrastructure, nor good value for taxpayers. This is an intriguing tale which, at times, beggars belief given the arrogance and overconfidence of the PPP’s creators.
The book focuses, too, on the role of Gordon Brown, whose stubborness in the face of advice from experts and stakeholders, was responsible for pushing the PPP through despite almost unanimous evidence that it was unworkable.
Christian Wolmar is a writer and broadcaster, and the author of On the Wrong Line, how ideology and incompetence wrecked Britain’s railways, and a series of history books on the railways including Fire & Steam, a new history of the railways in Britain.
This book, written in 2002 , sets out the intrigues, political machinations and private sector influence that led to the creationof the disastrous PPP. After winning the 1997 election, Labour realised that the Underground desperately needed refurbishment. However, under the self-imposed spending constraints, there was no money available and privatisation, the Tories’ idea, was ruled out. The Public Private Partnership was the chosen solution. Originally supposed to be entirely financed by the private sector, it ended up costing £1 billion per year of taxpayers money and proved an extremely expensive way of carrying out improvements on the Tube.
This book is an important summary of a disastrous policy which has cost the taxpayer billions and delivered very little of what was promised. By examining the intricacies of the deal and analysing the convoluted process that led to such an expensive mistake, Christian Wolmar’s book has enormous relevance today. It highlights the fact that complex deals like the Underground PPP, unfathomable to most people, are not necessarily either the best way of building or maintaining infrastructure, nor good value for taxpayers. This is an intriguing tale which, at times, beggars belief given the arrogance and overconfidence of the PPP’s creators.
The book focuses, too, on the role of Gordon Brown, whose stubborness in the face of advice from experts and stakeholders, was responsible for pushing the PPP through despite almost unanimous evidence that it was unworkable.
Christian Wolmar is a writer and broadcaster, and the author of On the Wrong Line, how ideology and incompetence wrecked Britain’s railways, and a series of history books on the railways including Fire & Steam, a new history of the railways in Britain.
