HEATHROW

[Fairdealfrank]

Quote: “Frank: Great post.”
Thanks, Rivet Joint, appreciated!
　
Quote: “For the record, personally, I do not think LHR should be concerned with domestic routes, serving the emerging economies is of far more critical importance to the country as a whole.”

To all intents and purposes it isn’t: LHR has links to just 7 UK airports compared to over 20 in the case of AMS and DUB. Longhaul routes to the emerging economies are critical, but the thinner routes especially need feed from pax connecting from other UK (and Ireland/Europe) airports to be viable.


Quote: “Those countries had politicans who were in favour of extending, rebuilding and increasing airport capacity at specific loactions. This country does not at present. Therefore there is no increase in capacity at Heathrow. This is called the democratic process as they were elected on that (and are holding to it). I hope the above easy to understand guide helps you tell the difference between dithering and democracy.”

So do we in the UK, the previous government eventually granted the expansion, but took so long to do so, because of the dithering.
Quote: “If you want a bigger heathrow vote for a party which promises one, if more people vote the opposite way then it will not get built."

Not so, with the exception of the Greens, we don’t have single-issue parties in the UK, single issue candidates are independents and tend to be defeated. Moreover, people do not vote for governments on the basis of the number of new rwys at LHR.

It certainly isn’t an election issue: no anti-LHR organisation has ever put up candidates for election for precisely this reason.

Quote: “Very easy concept to understand even for patronising keyboard warriors who bemoan that others cannot understand their grand concept.”

Love the insult, brilliant!



Quote: “…swing seats decide elections. Given the number fo swing seats near LHR, parties come out with any old garbage just to get someone elected so they can form a government and do 25% of all the other stuff they think needs doing.”

There are just two marginal (swing) seats near LHR: Brentford and Isleworth (Con-Lab) and Richmond and Barnes (Con-Lib), both currently Conservative. The majority of electors in both constituecies will vote on issues other than the amount of rwys at LHR.

The fact that a tiny well-off vocal minority who live far from LHR (who think, wrongly, that their house prices will fall) can scare the hell out of politicians who want and need LHR expansion says more about the calibre of politicians than about democracy. The use of the word “dithering“ is both correct and accurate.

Regrettably, the majority of MPs have never had a proper job or “run anything” (to quote Ken Livingstone), and no longer come from business, the professions, the union movement, local government, or, heaven forbid, ordinary workers.

Consequently they have little experience of the real world, and in turn their advisors are all kids just out of university or a research institute. “Career politicians” is the disparaging (but accurate) term used.


Quote: “The coalition would fall if it supported LHR expansion. Airport expansion is only one policy area. There is clearly going to be expansion in the southeast. The question remains where.”

Wouldn’t that be great! A minority government would have served the country better and would have been just as stable.


Quote: “Nowadays in this country we have "professional" protesters backed up by people who know all the ins and outs of slowing down/increasing the costs/killing proposals even, or especially, when they are not directly affected. You only have to witness all the recent brouhaha about fracking for an example of this.”

Yes, the “swampy” effect, and toxic when put together with dithering politicians.

Quote: “Bottom line; it's a mistake to think that all, or even most, of the opposition is local. Do I think that a third, and fourth, runway should go ahead? Yes. Is there anything I can do to help it go ahead? Not really apart from emailing my MP (Lib Dem).”

You could write to him/her for a laugh.

The Lib Dems have been in the coalition for three years now but don’t appear to have matured into a party of government. They’re still as mad as march hares!