I am not sure I understand the issue with this using of 'taxpayers' money for the airport. The money used was funding from central government that was given to the Tees Valley Combined Authority - it is then up to the authority how that money is spent. The Mayor was elected on the promise to buy the airport - which he delivered on. He was then re-elected with a landslide victory, and so it seems to me that a majority of the Tees Valley taxpayers were quite happy with how the central government funding was being used in the Tees Valley - and of course this funding from the government has been spent on lots of other things that benefit the region, like Teesworks, Middlesbrough and Darlington station railway upgrades to name a couple - you sometimes get the impression people think all the money was spent just on the airport. Totally agree that the political point scoring it is very tedious, and also don't really understand the undercurrent that is sometimes evident that people on an aviation forum would like to see the airport fail - an airport providing employment in the aviation industry so isn't that good for everyone in the aviation community?