A few days ago now, Blair made it clear that he intends to bypass Livingstone and Kiley's feeble opposition to the privatization of London Underground ("Tube"). Bizarrely known as the "Pee Pee Pee", Blair's plan is to force public services, including the Tube, to be broken up. Although it is not said openly, this will be according to the WTO's "GATS" prescription, which you will be aware was drafted in Geneva in February. Blair responded to his critics : "What I say to you is, Gosh, oh, Crikey. I mean, lets be clear about this; there are no plans, whoops , I hadnt thought of that. Turn to Jesus".

There have many documentaries recently, enquring precisely WHY private money needs to be brought into public services when the government has such large treasury reserves, and WHY, with all the talk of "equality of opportunity", income differential is perhaps higher than its ever been. So here is the answer: its got very little to do with pure economics. This is the political onslaught of neo-capitalism, and the class known as the "Meritocracy"# finally taking power.
Livingstone's miserable tactics are doomed to fail. You may recall that when the GLC was under attack in the 1980s, he placed his faith (if thats the right word for the cynic) is the law courts, and he was rebuffed. Expect the same to happen soon.

# See a remarkable book "Rise of the Meritocracy" , by M D Young, 1958, which virtually predicts the whole Blair phenomenon. Sections of it read like one of his ghastly speechs.Young has recently stated his dread that it should have come true.