underground - £455 million for consultants
WORKERS, JULY 2004 ISSUE
The part-privatisation of London Underground has resulted in a taxpayers' bill of £455 million. To hand over a national asset, paid for and financed over decades by the public, we have paid this vast sum of money in legal fees, consultancy charges, advisers' bills.
John Prescott should be proud of setting the world record for rip-off charges and the fattening of legal businesses — another first for Labour in proving its capitalist CV. The coincidental 30-year engineering contracts, supposedly to modernise the Tube, will result in over £15.7 billion falling into the coffers of 'private' enterprise. Profit returns of 20% will be made, a third higher than previous private finance investment robberies.