ah see I have been mentioned in despatches.
Whilst a few on here seem to think I am evangelical about Manchester it's not total blind faith. Honest !
As Basil says we do 3m ...its a spot on the backside of humanity compared to London , and yes I do think the article was more about the spat between LHR and LGW which is becoming quite comedic as its becomes more and more desperate !
When you note what they have down there and the volume of wide bodies I am truly staggered that we even achieve 22M, a not insignificant figure against their 72m especially when you consider the volume of wide bodies which roll in and out every 90 seconds and having one of the largest based fleets in the World. Bit different to a dozen FlyBees.
So given all that dosh down and the fact that as we are constantly reminded they are rolling in money, it makes perfect sense to fund all aspects of the runway etc themselves.
No problem with that ! But Sorry not with my taxes !
I do object to them coming to up North cap hand "suggesting" how fortunate we will be when we get this connectivity but then suggesting same breath we fund what in truth will be a THIRD of the cost !
After all with a dozen shuttles a day in place already what benefit is there to Manchester anyway, we already have the connectivity as does GLA, EDI, NCL LBA etc
Sorry I would much rather see our proportion spent of that £6B spent on infrastructure in the N West. I'm sure folk in GLA EDI NCL and LBA think the same !
So there we go £1Billion each spread across the country ! All in it together !
We have NEVER had that sort of investment up here !
As ever its how the question is phrased, do you want connectivity to Heathrow
( I discount LGW as it is irrelevant people out side Surrey) yes please !
OR
Do you want the money spent on other Capital projects in your area ! Trains, Schools , Hospitals ,
.....how about a government loan for those upgrades to T1 T2 T3 at MANCHESTER....then call it a national asset as well ?
And don't say you can separate them out because you can't. It's OUR taxes that will be footing this bill.
One other point if it is LHR and its OUR £6Billion plus the other £11Billion from HAL that is eye watering.
One for Skip how long will it take for both HAL and us as tax payers to actually get a return ?
I reckon 20 years !
PS Basil, I detest fox hunting but may be persuaded to change my mind come next election !
