Quote: "remember what happened to the mining industry?"
Very well indeed, why would we want to decimate yet another industry, particularly one that is a UK success story? Admittedly governments have been trying to do this by stealth: disproportionate APD increases, prohibiting expansion where it's needed, etc..
The mining industry was spread out over large parts of the country, mainly in parts that don't vote conservative. The decimation mentioned by petey156 and Skipness One Echo would be concentrated in a relatively small geographical area of the Thames valley.
Quote: "If Heathrow is closed (as it would be if a Thames Estuary airport were ever built), then jobs would be lost whether it was turned into a garden city, a theme park, or frozen in aspic as a monument to 70 years of UK aviation policy."
Once again you mention the closure of LHR, forget it, it won't happen, the share holders of BAA will not allow it. Why would they?
Apologies if banging on about this is becoming tedious, but it is a fundamental question that must be answered. If this issue is not addressed, "Silver Island" or any other schemes will remain a fantasy.
Quote: "If it's the closure scenario that you have a problem with, that's a completely different issue. Debate that sensibly, by all means, but the author's proposals for the aftermath have no bearing on it."
It's not so much an issue with closure, but the failure of the advocates of replacing LHR with "Silver Island" (or and other schemes) to face up to reality and answer the fundamental question.
Last edited by Fairdealfrank; 2nd Jun 2012 at 13:05.