Railtracks in the sky

"New" Labour, air transport deregulation and the competitive market

Peter Reed, Spokesman Books, 132 pages, £9.99

Peter Reed is not a radical - he is described as "one of the original Labour modernisers" - but he is deeply troubled about the implications of air transport deregulation and infrastructure privatisation.

In this book he argues that such measures will lower safety standards, just as the privatised Railtrack found it "uneconomic" to maintain track and signalling equipment.

Yet the extent of these risks are often only appreciated after a tragedy; despite a history of security breaches it took 9/11 to prompt the US congress to vote to re-nationalise airport security. Peter Reed argues that the structural contradiction between public goods (like air safety) and private profit will store up more tragedies for the future.