Look, I've never worked for BAA or GIP and am merely an observer of British aviation. However, I do feel that if the former company wants Stansted to be a successful airport and not to lag behind its southerly counterparts in terms of growth then it really needs to get off its backside and stop working off the rash assumption that it still has the monopoly over London's airports as it did a few years ago. The fact is that Gatwick under previous ownership was blighted with similar problems and is now flourishing under the investment programme of GIP. If BAA at Stansted was more prepared to invest in both the airport's infrastructure and its image then they would probably see the kind of growth which LGW is currently experiencing.
Obviously location is an issue but really, if they made the 'airport experience' (trendy term but certainly justifiable in this case) more pleasant as well as not allowing quite so much Ryanisation then they might do rather well. To hemorrhage routes and frequency to Gatwick and Southend (and I'm talking about more than just U2 here) is not at all good for Stansted and apparently eternal stagnation at that airport has got to stop if BAA wants growth.