The photo above was widely used in the media. It features two of our MPs, Munira Wilson and Sarah Olney, plus our London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon, celebrating Royal Courts of Justice in London last Thursday, after a decision by the Court of Appeal on legal challenges to the UK government’s approval of plans to expand capacity at Heathrow airport.
The Court of Appeal ruled in favour of green campaigners who oppose a third runway at London’s Heathrow airport, Europe’s busiest. The court said the UK government that had given the Heathrow extension the green light in 2018 had failed to take into account the Paris Agreement to limit climate warming.
A Lib Dem press release on that day said:
This ruling is a victory for common sense. At a time when we should be promoting greener transport, we cannot allow the expansion of the country’s single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
The Prime Minister once pledged to ‘lie down’ in front of the bulldozers – well he doesn’t even need to do that. If the Conservatives are serious about taking the climate emergency, they should simply cancel Heathrow expansion once and for all.
Liberal Democrats have always opposed Heathrow expansion and will continue to hold the government to account on their climate change commitments.
Bristol Airport’s expansion plan, which it said would boost its passenger capacity by two million a year, has been rejected by councillors.
Ten million people a year can travel from the airport and bosses wanted to build a new car park and transport hub to boost that to 12 million.
Bristol Airport said the expansion would stop millions of people from the region driving to London airports.
But North Somerset councillors said it would be harmful to the environment.
Passenger numbers at the airport are currently 8.9 million a year but it has a capacity of 10 million.
The application had about 8,800 objections from members of the public and 2,400 messages of support.
Councillors voted 18-7, with one abstention, to reject it.
Bristol Airport chief executive Dave Lees said the decision risked “putting the brakes” on the future growth of the region.
He said they would reflect and consider whether to appeal or submit fresh plans.
Ellen Nicholson, South West Wiltshire Lib Dems Parliamentray Spokesperson said:
It would be better to improve the public transport links from Bristol city centre to the airport, the airport is so awkward by public transport it’s almost easier to use Heathrow, Gatwick or Luton. Any thought of expansion without significant improvements to access is a nonsense.
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10 Comments
The picture also includes our Londonwide Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon.
Flybe now in its coffin, Virgin Atlantic business down 40%, … so we can expect further casualties as Corona virus continues it’s steady spread around the globe.
Big industry gatherings being cancelled and rethought ie. expect next year’s event to be very different, I suspect we are seeing the beginning of the end of ever-increasing air travel.
Now we need to stop Gatwick’s plan to bring their stand-by runway into use as a second runway
Mike Ward – just as a point of information: Gatwick’s parallel standby runway is too close to the main runway and cannot be used simultaneously for a twin-runway operation. Adding a second runway at Gatwick would be simpler and cheaper than adding a third runway at Heathrow, but it would still be a major project and might well face the same legal hurdle which has stalled Heathrow’s plans.
“Gatwick’s parallel standby runway is too close to the main runway and cannot be used simultaneously for a twin-runway operation.” Yeovil Yokel your statement is correct but their application will include widening it by 12 metres so that the separation is sufficient. A Development Consent Order application is imminent we think.
The collapse of Flybe and the threat of others doing so might be a positive result from Cornid 19. The secrecy of Coronavirus updates is a negative one. The government will seize any opportunity for closing parliament, reducing scrutiny and denying human rights. It is ironic that the epidemic is doing what all the protests about climate change failed to do.
@Roland. Business travel apparently counts for only 12% of air passengers, though they are much more profitable.
I agree that companies may start to think about alternatives to flying their people around the world, but I can’t see that many people are going to want to forego their two weeks on a beach in the med, or whatever. Air travel is projected to continue to rise over the next decade, much of it driven by the growing middle class in Asia, many of whom will want to come and spend their hard earnt cash in the UK. I conclude, therefore, that however much we may fret about the environmental impact of air travel, it is too soon to call it’s demise. And as a consequence we need to find some more capacity, unless we can price poor folk out of the market (which doesn’t sound very Liberal to me !)
@Peter Hirst. You will forgive those living close to Southampton Airport and bringing up their families on the wages it provides if they don’t see the failure of Flybe as a wonderfull thing. Bit like telling miners in the 1980s that closing the pits was a great thing because coal is so, so bad for the environment.
You’re making a case, Chris for adequate compensation for those who suffer economically because of actions taken for the common good whether that is closing airlines, extracting fossil fuels or building cars.
@chris cory – agree it is a tad early to start predicting the demise of air travel. However, it is right to question and review all those never-ending upwards growth predictions, much liked by fans of school textbook economics.
Whilst the business traveller may only form a small percentage of total travellers, many scheduled flights (and airlines) are only profitable because of them. From the demise of several big charter airlines and the tightening of the belts of scheduled airlines with a high exposure to non-business travel (eg. Emirates), it does seem that the holiday market is insufficiently profitable to have mass-market carriers dedicated to it.
>unless we can price poor folk out of the market (which doesn’t sound very Liberal to me !)
May not be liberal, but it is going to happen. It’s hard lesson to learn: there are consequences in taking something which is okay for a few to do (eg. travel into space) and converting it into something the masses consider to be a fundamental human right. Thus the challenge is going to be arriving at some arrangements that also restrict the ability of rich people to flout the rules.