15 September 2000
Delegates unanimously supported a motion accusing Labour of spawning a 'privatisation culture' and failing to make the economic case for using Private Finance Initiative and public-private partnership schemes to finance projects such as the building of hospitals and schools. It also said such deals were responsible for diverting money away from services to consultancy fees.
Unison secretary general Rodney Bickerstaffe, who proposed the motion, condemned the government for presiding over a 'free-for-all' that profited from public need.
The TUC demanded a return to 'traditional' capital financing methods and a commitment to providing extra resources for services, including an end to pay freezes. It also resolved to mount a high-profile campaign against PFI and PPPs that would investigate the amount of public money 'wasted' on them and 'promote alternative, cheaper methods of financing public investment'.
The motion is destined to set the TUC on a collision course with the government. Twenty-four hours after the TUC debate, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Smith confirmed Labour's enthusiastic commitment to private investment in an article written for think-tank the Institute for Public Policy Research.
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