Boris lying in front of the airport bulldozers? Could be a bonus, PM
Global Britain: an update. Between now and 2026, Britain plans to build an airport runway. Between now and the year 2025, meanwhile, China plans to build 136 entire airports.
The comparison, of course, is ever so slightly unfair. China, after all, covers a marginally larger area than Britain, and is home to one or two more people.
And it’s somewhat easier for a government to press ahead with major infrastructure projects when it doesn’t have to worry quite so much about democratic accountability.
All the same, it does say something about the decisiveness of modern British governments.
Westminster has been deliberating over a new runway at Heathrow for the past 28 years. It was first proposed five prime ministers ago.
Yesterday, however, the Cabinet finally gave the plan an official thumbs-up. The announcement was made to MPS by Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary. He was looking decidedly chipper, mainly, I suspect, because he wasn’t having to talk about train cancellations.
Unlike on Monday, hardly anyone demanded his immediate dismissal, and no one told him that he was “utterly pointless”. By Mr Grayling’s standards, this constitutes a very successful day indeed.
Not that everyone endorsed his statement. By and large, MPS for constituencies near Heathrow opposed it, while MPS for constituencies safely out of earshot supported it.
Naturally, one of the plan’s chief critics was Zac Goldsmith (Con, Richmond Park). The last time the Government talked about the new runway, Mr Goldsmith was so upset that he resigned his seat, and vowed to fight the resulting by-election on the issue. Unfortunately for him, he lost.
Having since scraped back into the Commons, he appears to be showing a little more restraint. This time, he didn’t resign – but he did tell Mr Grayling that the economic case for Heathrow had weakened, and that just as much money could be made expanding Gatwick instead. Mr Grayling offered his sympathies, but said Gatwick was unlikely to be expanded until the 2060s. By which time, no doubt, the Chinese will all travel by flying car, and be making daily commutes to Mars.
Mike Gapes (Lab, Ilford South) welcomed the plan, but feared that it might yet be scuppered by “divisions in Cabinet” (i.e., Boris Johnson). Mr Grayling replied that at the latest Cabinet meeting the plan had received “almost entirely universal support” (i.e., not from Mr Johnson).
The Foreign Secretary has previously pledged that if work goes ahead at Heathrow he will “lie down in front of the bulldozers”. It’s unknown whether Theresa May considers this prospect an obstacle or a bonus.
More MPS complained. Caroline Lucas (Green, Brighton Pavilion) warned Mr Grayling about climate change. Justine Greening (Con, Putney) warned him about pollution. Marsha De Cordova (Lab, Battersea) warned him about noise.
Still, perhaps their worries are unfounded. If Mr Grayling does as good a job looking after planes as he does trains, most of the new flights will get cancelled.