Heathrow-2

[Navpi]

Election gamechanger?

Skip wont like this but given the revised make up of Parliament and the fact nothing has happened with Heathrow in the intervening months since the 3rw was approved, is there a case for a revised vote ?

When the vote was taken the Transport Secretary was unequivocal
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Hansard National Policy Statement 25th June 2018
Chris Grayling

In answer to questions about the taxpayer contribution

"Improvements to nearby roads and paying for parts of the rail projects that are due to happen are built into the plans. It is absolutely essential that that is the case. Heathrow airport will make a substantial contribution"

"I can also confirm that expansion can and will be privately financed, at no cost to the taxpayer."
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18 months on and we are no wiser what that contribution is ?

However one wishes to dress this up MPs were left with the very definite impression they were supporting a project that would not cost the taxpayer a bean.

That was clearly a blatant lie. If you were to ask Parliamentarians today

Do you wish to proceed with Heathrow expansion at a cost of £XXbillion to the taxpayer would they still support it ?

The only figures we have to go on in terms of the cost of supporting road and rail infrastructure are those put forward by TFL. These were in the order of £14 billion 5 years ago perhaps £20bn seems a more realistic figure today given the eye watering jump in f'cast costs for HS2 and Crossrail.

The original figures put forward by TFL to create a new underground station, new platforms, new tunneling, widening the M25, reconfiguring the M25 etc is somewhat fanciful but we have little else to go on.

Surely there can be no progress until costs are nailed down and its made clear to this new Parliament who is paying for what ?

Given costs on HS2 and Crossrail have been woefully underestimated and with no timeframe for completion on the horizon would it not be wise for the new Dept of Transport to take a fresh look at costs ? costs which I suspect have risen exponentially in the intervening 3 years to that £20bn figure. This depts involvement (or lack) of thus far has been woeful.

Today's Sunday papers suggest a long overdue cull in Whitehall to include Dept of Transport civil servants who have been involved in this process thus far and whom Johnson believes have been focused on London and to hell with the North. A revolving door policy of civil servants inexplicably finding themselves directly employed in projects they signed off has not helped.

Again does that not raise alarm bells that some civil servants may have treated Heathrow with a somewhat light touch whilst scrutinizing the costs of projects up North to within an inch of their life whilst adopting a "laissez faire" attitude to projects in London.

.....this of course assumes there are some projects up north, last time I looked the cupboard was somewhat threadbare.

With no work started on the rw3 and 50 plus new MPs most being located North of Birmingham, would they not want their say on the possibilities of direct investment in the N West and N East NOW, or the benefits of Heathrow connectivity in 40 years time ?