Heathrow runway decision cannot be delayed
When the TUC and the big unions ally themselves with the CBI and large companies, - backed by big banks from, both sides of the Atlantic - we should either be very worried or concede they have a strong argument.
Those organisations, however, are among the100 members of Future Heathrow, a lobby group formed to badger the government into allowing a third runway to be built at London’s main airport.
The Institute of Directors is lined up alongside big unions such as Unite and the GMB, Deutsche Bank is shoulder to shoulder with the London Stock Exchange, Boeing is next to BAE Systems and BAT is next to Imperial Tobacco. Even Merrill Lynch broke off from the credit crunch and being taken over to sign up.
“Heathrow is vital for business,” is their slogan and the this disparate group want the government to make the “right decisions” - ie to approve the third runway - “within strict environmental standards,” of course.
There is vigorous opposition to expanding Heathrow and the Conservative leader has played to the green agenda by querying its need. And this line up of lobbyists do not have common reasons for supporting the third runway. The airplane builders’ interest is obvious, business generally wants to do its international work efficiently, the tobacco companies may be looking at duty-free sales and the unions want to protect jobs at an airport where they already have an unhealthy grip.
And it is interesting to note the names not on the list. There is Barclays but not HSBC or Lloyds; AstraZeneca but not Glaxo; Deloitte, but not PwC. Maybe the absentees were out when the call came.
But the presence of Scottish Chambers of Commerce the Scottish Council for Development & Industry shows this is not simply a Home Counties lobby at the expense of the regions.
Future Heathrow should be supported by all however, including opponents of the airport’s expansion. The lobbyists would like the government to decide in their favour but just as important is that the government decides something. Big projects in the UK get mired in planning delays and stuck on the desks of ministers not prepared to make unpopular decisions.
The current recession will trim the demand for air travel but the trend - climate-change not withstanding - is for greater international communication and the development of markets in India and China will increase that demand. If Heathrow is now allowed to grow, airport facilities elsewhere will be required. Either way, planning needs to start now.
Transport minister Ruth Kelly must prove she is not indecisive or scared to make bold decisions. She must consider carefully Future Heathrow’s case but she must give her ruling before Christmas. No delays.
