This "we in the North" stance against Heathrow simply doesn't resonate with what I see and hear.
But that is not the argument. It is "we in the North" demand a fair share of the national public transport infrastructure budget
before the SE gets yet another sequential turn at the trough.
This isn't anti-MAN
Absolutely, and note that I have
never made this a debate about Manchester Airport. However, Skipness frequently introduces MAN into the debate. LHR-expansion advocates love to imply that LHR objections spring from trivial desires for enhanced planespotting opportunities at MAN! :-) NO ... it really is all about the big picture. If objectors can be dismissed as planespotters / narrow-minded 'locals' / 'supporters' etc etc, then our arguments can be more easily trivialised as motivated by petty jealousy, rather than by reasoned economic logic and a desire for equitable distribution of public resources.
Seems entirely logical that links into this global hub (and other) are seen by many as a valuable driver of economic activity.
Include me in that number. I have always acknowledged this. But the cost of making additional links into LHR possible has to be priced at an economically justifiable level. I contend that the return on investment is so poor based on prices cited that direct infrastructure investment in regional infrastructure priorities represents a far superior investment for UKplc. Remember that public funds (GBP10Bn?) allocated to LHR R3
cannot then be used elsewhere ... funds can only be allocated once (as the recent rail funding cutbacks amply demonstrate). There is an implied 'opportunity cost' involved in deploying national public funds at LHR rather than on other projects of merit around the UK. This is not being factored into the LHR R3 'benefits' calculations, and that mindset needs to change.
I want to see the regions confidently demanding their own rightful slice of the cake, not praying that crumbs will trickle down from the rich man's feast.
EDIT: More issues with the 'quote' boxes, I see. Let's see if this correction works ... Quote boxes successfully sorted!