A Runway Too Far.
A few weeks ago the Government announced the go-ahead for a third runway for Heathrow, with construction expected to start in 2015. Our beloved Government have pushed their plans through without any thought for local residents, the environment or democratic process. It only takes a modicum of cynicism to think it was hoped the announcement might have distracted from the attempt to slip amendments to the Freedom of Information Act through “under the radar” (see January 21st post). They tried to justify the multi-billion pound project (and its bound to cost more than they estimate now) by highlighting the creation of jobs during construction, in operation and within the service industries locally. However, if construction doesn’t begin until 2015, the jobs will have little relevance to our current employment woes. He have to hope that the three million plus unemployed predicted for the end of 2009 won’t have to wait six years for a job. It would also seem from the announcement that the construction project may be handed to a Spanish company, so “British jobs for British workers” seems to be absent once again. Why would we even consider handing billions of pounds and hundreds of jobs to the Spanish?
The whole project displays yet another example of New Labour’s inability to develop a cohesive policy and its contempt for the poor and rural communities of the UK. Most people in the UK never fly, so the construction of another runway will only benefit the small proportion that do fly to or from Heathrow. The vast majority of people use cars for transport and, given the strict targets for carbon emissions reductions, any increase in air traffic will require a disproportionate reduction in road traffic. The Government’s mechanism for encouraging a decrease in car usage is to increase the price of petrol, so we can expect the duty charged to escalate significantly in coming years. In urban areas, where Public Transport may be a realistic alternative, this policy may be fair and effective. However, in rural communities, Public Transport is frequently close to useless. People in such areas will have to carry on using their cars, paying ever increasing prices for the petrol. Thus, those in rural communities, where levels of income are considerably lower than the National average, will pay a carbon surcharge to support the flying habits of the better off.
