BRITAIN: The Labour Conference inflicted a rare defeat on its party leadership last night, backing union calls for an independent review of the government's use of private finance to provide public services. But there was relief for the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, as he successfully fought-off an anti-war motion opposing any military action in Iraq.
The debate over the government's controversial Private Finance Initiative turned ugly and saw Treasury Minister Mr Paul Boateng heckled and barracked by delegates who fear the "creeping privatisation" of Britain's schools and hospitals under a Labour government continuing a policy first devised by the Conservatives 10 years ago. And a tough debate over Iraq laid bare the deep unease of many Labour activists at the prospect of war, and the difficulty Mr Blair will have bringing his party behind any action not specifically authorised by the United Nations.
The leadership only secured last night's conference backing for a motion supporting the government and military action "within the context of international law", having earlier staged a retreat and withdrawn its own motion when it became clear the powerful GMB would oppose it because it did not sufficiently bind the government to action sanctioned by the UN.
The conference defeat over PFI was only the second of Mr Blair's leadership, and both he and the Chancellor, Mr Gordon Brown, had made clear in advance that it would make no difference to a policy Mr Brown told delegates "binds contractors into value for money" and spreads to the private sector the responsibilities for flaws and delays in building programmes. The government has so far signed contracts for over 500 projects worth an estimated £23 billion. But Mr John Edmonds, general secretary of the GMB, won loud applause when he declared: "This is public money. It should go into education and patient care, and not into the pockets of city institutions." Mr Mick Rix, of the ASLEF rail union, equally caught the party's worry about the involvement of profit making organisations in the provision of public services. "The taxpayer is being ripped off," he told delegates: "Hospitals which do not work today we will be paying for in over 30 years time. The public can see that we are mortgaging our future basically to make the fat cats fatter." Under the PFI projects are put out to tender with bids invited from developers and building firms who make the investment in new schools or hospitals schools and lease them back.