Third runway gets go-ahead
And so, finally a third runway for Heathrow gets the green light from the government. I suspect it was never in doubt: ministers simply had to go through the motions of consulting and making some more concessions to the green lobby (which it won't satisfy but could stave off any cabinet resignations).
We're expecting an official announcement at lunchtime, while we're on air. Business leaders and trade unions say it will create jobs, boost Britain's competitiveness and enhance what is already one of the country's most important assets for the 21st century. Critics maintain it will cause irreparable damage to government's credentials for tackling climate change.
The Tories say if they win the next election, it will never get off the ground, so today's announcement might not be the final word on the matter (though many wonder aloud that, if the Tories were in government, would they really scrap it?).
Throughout the programme we'll be talking to the Shadow Business Secretary, Alan Duncan and the former Labour MP, and proponent for a third runway, Lord Soley.
Also today, as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, MPs will be debating the situation in the Commons this afternoon and so will we.
And we'll be discussing the pro and cons of entering the euro.
All that coming up at midday on the Daily Politics here on BBC2 and online.
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Are we going to get some coverage of Digby Jones' comments to the select committee?
Not really interested in airports near London as more people need to leave the country to repatriate their wealth.
Much better to get people to use the Eurostar to Belgium and France to take flights from there. Then they have all the issues over carbon emissions, unless the EU is going to allow us to re-write our pledges.
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Having some time ago been one of those protesting against the nuisance of Heathrow, I suspect the current proposal is the very minimum needed for it to keep up with the main European hubs.
The problem is that, unlike our neighbours, we never grasped the straw and built a new airport on a greenfield site which could accomodate more runways. In the 1960s Heathrow was just about the best international airport in the world. Now it is clinging on by its fingernaills to the bottom of the first division.
I think we need for it to keep up with the rest. However, we also need to start planning for a new integrated transport hub on a greenfield site. Of course then we would have every NIMBY in sight piling in. But we for once have to be brave, and take the right decision despite all the photo opportunities open to the protesters.
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The economy is in recession so we can't afford foreign holidays. Everybody's going camping in the UK this year...
And even when there isn't a recession, the airlines can no longer afford aviation fuel at its normal prices if we only fly on cheap tickets, so they are steadily going bust or merging...
So what possible reason is there to suppose that we still need a third runway at Heathrow ?
Particularly as we now have double-decker airplanes...
The best plan is to quietly kick the third runway into touch somehow, like the 42 day detention law that there was so much fuss about when it was being debated.
I'm sure there'll be plently more opportunities for the Government to bury bad news, like admitting they were completely wrong about the need for a third runway...
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After Lord Soley had stated that 70% of passengers who flew from manchester to london caught another plane,perhaps a better interviewer would have asked why manchester wasn't being used for the flights in the first place instead of expanding heathrow.
Also on today's show the labour friend of palestine said that this country didn't know what it would do in the case of having missiles fired at it,Well we all know what it did when threatened with imaginary missiles.
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#4
Good question about Soley's 70% - although he'd soon come up with a different figure if put on the spot.
Manchester or Birmingham or Boris Johnson's proposal for the Thames estuary (or even some combination) ought to be in the frame for consideration if more capacity really is essential.
After all, how long will it be before someone decides that a fourth runway at Heathrow is needed?
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#4
well said, and presumable they could expand Luton, Derby, Leeds and Liverpool to accommodate
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Southampton Docks is quite a good example of why we need to think more carefully about the third runway.
The original docks destroyed an area of mudflats, but I have to concede they were great. They helped the town to prosper. Railways were developed to serve the docks and a fantastic facility was developed.
In the 1960's the Docks were extended, to create a container port. The old docks declined and were neglected. The railway terminus was now in the wrong place and was closed down. The fabulous Ocean Terminal (only built in the 50's) was demolished. Eventually, the Docks and the old Railway Terminus were put to other uses, such as car-parking and gambling. That's not really what the best use of such a great facility, is it ? The planners have let us down....
Now we find that there's more local controversy over developing a new container port. It seems the original one isn't big enough. The proposal is to concrete over a large section of mudflats on the other side of Southampton Water...
We've long-since lost the shoreline in Southampton to the Developers, something that probably wouldn't be permitted today. However, the developers instinct is still to destroy yet more shoreline...
It seems to me that if you give the developers a chance, they'll gradually concrete over everything in order to make things easiest for themselves. They're not so interested in repair, renewal and redevelopment as it is harder and more expensive to do...
Meanwhile, we all lose all sorts of natural features that in the longer-term (a century or so), it would be very much better to retain.
Southampton would be a much nicer place if the water still came up to the Town walls....
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#3
I think you will find that is why we are building it. Because since the demise of the banking sector it's one of the few things that brings cash into this beleaguered country.
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