Member Article

Heathrow expansion: Will politics stand in the way of economic growth?

Yesterday, The Airports Commission, led by Sir Howard Davies, recommended the construction of a third runway at Heathrow Airport. The West London airport went head to head with rival Gatwick, which hoped to receive backing for its plans to build a second runway.

The recommendation is nothing short of a nightmare for the newly-formed government. In 2009, Cameron said: “The third runway at Heathrow is not going ahead, no ifs, no buts.” As much as I’d like to see Cameron chain himself to the 17:45 to Charles de Gaulle in protest, the Prime Minister would be a fool to stand in the way of this milestone in economic growth for London, and the country as a whole.

The Mayor of London and professional producer of soundbites, Boris Johnson, has also taken a stance against the airport’s expansion. In an interview on the BBC One’s Breakfast show, Johnson said: “I don’t think that will happen for a very long time, if indeed ever. We are now at a highly predictable stage of a national debate over this new runway.” Although Johnson may be on his way out before the final decision is even made, many of Labour’s shortlist have also rejected plans for Heathrow’s expansion, including Hackney’s Diane Abbott MP and Tooting’s Sadiq Khan MP.

Russ Shaw, founder, Tech London Advocates, a private sector led coalition of expert individuals from the tech sector, believes yesterday’s recommendation for an additional runway in 2025 is ‘too little too late’: “London is leading a race to become a global digital city and we need to show we’re open for international business and talent. More runways sends a message to the wider tech community that London means business so we need to act on these proposals now.”

Casey Bowden, MD of Woking-based Harvey Water Softeners said: “It seems like half the time I fly into Heathrow the planes stack for half an hour just waiting to land. We need to increase capacity and Heathrow would be my choice. Just get on with it.”

If businesses are in favour of the airport’s expansion, and the economic boost it will bring, then why are so many politicians standing against it? What makes the Heathrow expansion a political decision rather than an economic one?

For Boris Johnson, it’s all about noise pollution. And by noise pollution, I mean not upsetting his voters ahead of next year’s election. This kind of voter ‘loyalty’ is also affecting the Prime Minister. Although he has already secured five more years in Downing Street, David Cameron is more than aware of the repercussions of breaking a promise to the voters, having witnessed the Liberal Democrats’ fall from grace following their U-turn on tuition fees.

That’s not to say the politicians haven’t offered any solutions. Johnson is championing the prospect of building an entirely new airport on the Thames Estuary. This seemingly off-the-cuff solution is crazier than it might seem. The so-called Thames Hub Airport, costing around £65bn, would be built on a platform straddling the land and sea off the Isle of Grain on the Hoo Peninsula. The project would be opened in 2029 with an initial handling capacity of 110 million passengers per annum. We can compare this to the proposed Heathrow expansion, which, according to the commission’s report, would set us back £18.6bn.

The two airports are operating at ‘full capacity’ with both reporting record passenger numbers in the lead up to the decision. One thing is clear - a decision will be made, and, given the current economic climate both here and in Europe, expanding an existing airport trumps investing in a whole new project handsdown. Politicians have weighed in heavy on this debate, as short-term issues like popularity and voter loyalty take precedent over the prospect of significant economic gain for the whole country - I ask, will politics stand in the way of economic growth?

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .