Anyone who thinks that the money earmarked for a third runway will be spent in the north if the runway is not built is severely deluded, because this is private sector money.
Sorry Frank, can't let you away with that one! Funding proposals call for a minimum of £5Bn from the public purse with claims running to £20Bn dependent on source. This of course includes infrastructure upgrades on surrounding roads / railways as a consequence of LHR R3 approval. And it is not delusional to suppose that there are alternative uses for public sector infrastructure funding. Each pound allocated can only be used once. If yet another vast sum is nodded through for the SE, that money cannot then be used in the regions where it is long overdue and acutely needed.
the entire country is in favour.
On the contrary, the country is extremely divided on this issue. There is no consensus. That is why this topic attracts passionate debate.
Moving on, I would like to pick up on one other point raised on the R3 issue: connectivity. If a British company wishes to do business in Chongqing, Duluth or Hyderabad, do contributors here honestly subscribe to the myth that contracts will never be signed if there isn't a non-stop flight between LHR and these destinations? Have you ever heard of one-stop connections via hubs such as DXB, PEK or ORD? This is routine for business travellers in reality. A couple of hours additional journey time will not kill international commerce. Besides, the real truth is that London's greatest demand for increased runway capacity is driven by the leisure sector, not business. Those flights to PMI, AGP and TFS may not be glamorous enough for some, but they all require SE runway space. As do flights servicing inbound tourism. Over coming years, London will have to cope with far more growth to Mediterranean resorts than to regional China.