The majority of controllers in this country are of a good standard however the problem is they are not given the oportunity to give valuable enough input into decision making, that instead is left to managers who dont know there arse from their elbow!
Swanwick was never going to increase capacity and reduce delays only a complete overhaul of airspace in this country will put us on the right track.It is all very well the government saying they want more airports and more runways but there is no space up above to put them and no one in management/government is talking about that, because they dont know what they are doing!
It does not mean that controllers are always right but the pressure is on and thats when the mistakes happen and NATS mangement dont want to know.They have followed in the footsteps of New Labour all "spin" to make us look good but the reality is somewhat different.