THE director of Glasgow School of Art yesterday maintained that a
''greed is good'' philosophy was undermining public services.
Professor Dugald Cameron's criticism of the drive for profit was
underlined by Councillor Charles Gordon, convener of Strathclyde's
transport committee, who ridiculed prospects of privatisation of
ScotRail by early next year.
Both men upset protocol by making their pronouncements during a
train-naming ceremony in Glasgow.
Professor Cameron told guests that both the art school and railways
were ''suffering from a sustained assault by a Government stupidly
determined to undermine public services'', and added: ''It has
transformed public services into one of private greed.''
He was standing beside a ScotRail train given the nameplate Glasgow
School of Art, to mark the school's 150th anniversary.
He went on to question Government ideology behind the bid to split up
the railways. He said it was ''utterly ludicrous'' for the Government to
spend #700m on the privatisation process when British Rail would have
only #100m for capital investment in the next financial year.
Councillor Gordon, in his public address, said he hoped Strathclyde
region's long, productive association with ScotRail would continue --
provided 29 ''intractable problems'' connected with the franchising
process and 129 more over local government reorganisation could be
resolved.
He warned later that the council, which subsidises the largest
commuter network outside London, would refuse to compromise over
Government pressures to accept that timetables and quality requirements
should be flexible.
Strathclyde's response to any complaints that it was delaying rail
privatisation would be: ''Tough.''
He forecast that it would be impossible for the Government to
privatise ScotRail as planned next year, because of doubts over funding
the network.
Councillor Gordon argued that no-one would be prepared to bid for the
seven-year franchise within the Government time-scale, because of
financial doubts over subsidy levels guaranteed only until April next
year.
ScotRail's director, Mr Chris Green, who attended the naming ceremony,
declined to comment.
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