No More Runway?

Today campaigners won a judgement in the high court about the process of agreeing the third runway at Heathrow. Lord Justice Carnwath said the public consultation process used was invalid as it was based on out-of-date figures. The decision does not rule out a third runway but calls for government policy to be reviewed. This sets the whole process back a long way, and should mean that the Government abandon the plans. Gordon Brown and his ministers still insist they will plough on. This shows just how out of touch they are with the public, and that they simply will never listen to the other side of an argument. The third runway will bring misery to people in London and the South East, and now we can be clear that the economic arguments are deeply flawed as many of us have been saying for a long time. Can BAA finally get to the task in hand of improving the airport we already have, and focus on making it a world class facility. At the moment it is not one, even with terminal five working. If jobs are to be maintained in and around the airport their must be proper investment. We deserve a better Heathrow, we don't need a bigger one.

Snapshot

Today I have been speaking or writing to residents about a wide range of issues, so I thought I'd mention it on here as a snapshot of the things raised by local people. I have, for example, been trying to reach a neighbourhood watch co-ordinator about CCTV and lighting in Stanwell, but we keep missing each other! I have written to a resident in Staines who asked me to outline our policy on Heathrow. I spoke to a person in Sunbury about A2 housing association. I emailed a lady about IFAW's manifesto for wild animals. That is just a sample of what has been going on today. It's great that when a General Election comes round, people take the opportunity to ask questions of their candidates and work out who is the best one for them. Today I think I gave three people an answer they were happy with, and one I know did not like what I had to say. But that is why we have elections - to let opinions be heard, and for people to exercise a right to choose who represents them. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow...

Heathrow Runway Three

I am currently sitting watching Ed Milliband fail to justify a third runway at Heathrow on Newsnight. How the Government can seriously expect us to believe that they are committed to tackling climate change, whilst endorsing an expansion of aviation is beyond me. Heathrow certainly needs improving, but not expanding, and it's high time the Government reversed it's decision to allow runway three. The plan now appears to be that every other area of carbon emissions will need to be cut by 90% before 2050, so that the airlines can continue to fly on largely unaffected. This is a subject I will come back to many times in the coming months, especially as Spelthorne's MP wants the new runway, and so does the council......