The prevailing mentality on this thread - that MAN can do no wrong, any airline / terminal / public transport / local economic development at MAN must be sung from the rooftops (regardless of its relevance to your average PPruner) whilst any prospect of development elsewhere is a heinous sleight against the Manchester area - is becoming extremely tiresome.
With respect, Flightrider, you seem to be drawing conclusions which don't match the facts in this instance. It is unsurprising that discussion on the Manchester thread often relates to issues which directly affect MAN. Surely that is to be expected? But more generally we do face an ongoing long-term mindset emanating from Westminster which has seen London and the SE overwhelmingly favoured over the regions (generally) in terms of public investment in sectors such as transport infrastructure. And not just by a modest amount: reports discussed in the press just today outline 6:1 state public transport infrastructure investment in favour of the SE versus the regions. That is an extraordinary imbalance. I unapologetically reserve the right to speak out against it.
Skipness laments that NW observers have little to fret about because MAN is getting new world-class airport terminal facilities in the form of the TP. But here is the point: that world-class facility is entirely financed by MAG itself, and MAG will be wholly responsible for paying back those commercial loans from its future business revenues. Conversely, corresponding projects proposed for airports in the SE require multiple billions in
public funding to make them possible. The numbers quoted are staggering. That is the issue, and it is one which does deserve widespread publicity. Five decades of decorous silence have left us upstart provincials with Victorian rail infrastructure served by Pacer rail-buses and no major road link between large cities such as Sheffield and Manchester. So I disagree with you. We're quite right to bang the table on this.
But where I do agree with you is that this is not an issue limited to Manchester and the NW. The time has come for all the regions of the UK to demand more equitable distribution of public investment for infrastructure priorities. Surely you don't propose that we should just sit back and meekly accept a 6:1 per head (or worse) distribution in favour of London versus the rest? I'm sorry to tell you that I for one will continue to express my views on this national scandal for as long as it remains unresolved as a public issue.