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Heathrow Expansion: Cameron must decide whether he is man or mouse

David Cameron must decide whether he is 'man or mouse' and drop his objection to building a third runway at Heathrow airport, one of the most high-profile environmentalists in the Conservative Party warns.

Daily Telegraph UK. 1 Sept 2012

Tim Yeo, a former environment minister and head of the Parliamentary climate change committee, says the “environmental objections” to the expansion of Heathrow are “disappearing”.

Mr Yeo was previously a high-profile opponent of the third runway and “strongly supported” the Conservatives’ decision to rule it out in the 2010 election manifesto.

However, in an article for The Daily Telegraph he says Mr Cameron must “find his sense of mission” and push ahead with the controversial project. “The Prime Minister must ask himself whether he is man or mouse,” he writes. “Does he want to be another Harold Macmillan, presiding over a dignified slide towards insignificance?

“Or is there somewhere inside his heart — an organ that still remains impenetrable to most Britons — a trace of Thatcher, determined to reverse the direction of our ship?

“An immediate go-ahead for a third runway will symbolise the start of a new era, the moment the Cameron government found its sense of mission. Let’s go for it.”

Mr Yeo is among a growing number of senior Conservatives who believe that Mr Cameron should abandon the party’s opposition to a third runway.

Grant Shapps, the housing minister, said last week that Britain must consider building a third runway at Heathrow if it is to remain a “great trading nation”. George Osborne, the Chancellor, is also thought to share this view.

A consultation on airport capacity in the South East has already been delayed twice after government infighting. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has accused Mr Cameron of “pussyfooting around” on the issue. Mr Yeo says that without the extra runway Britain risks losing out on trading opportunities with China, which is emerging as an economic superpower.

“Unveiling this policy now would seize the political initiative, and could be the start of a desperately needed programme to make Britain the most business-friendly country in Europe,” he writes.

“That would enable us to remain in the economic Premier League and allow our children to enjoy the rising living standards that today’s decision-makers took for granted when growing up.”

He argues that an EU cap on carbon emissions means that airlines will have to develop “greener” planes if they wish to take advantage of an expanded Heathrow.

“The environmental objections are disappearing. Last January, greenhouse gas emissions from flying were brought within the EU cap,” he says.

“Indeed, we could cover the whole of Surrey with runways and not increase emissions by a single kilogram: if Heathrow expands, so remaining the European destination of choice, airlines will fly their newest and quietest aircraft to it.”

The expansion of the airport is the key demand of business leaders as the Government considers how to kickstart the economy.

However, the Liberal Democrats are expected to oppose a third runway on environmental grounds.

Yesterday, Tom Brake, a Liberal Democrat MP who has previously spoken for the party on transport issues, said that in the “longer term” a new airport may have to be built.

Asked whether a hub airport may be required, he replied: “I think longer term, yes, and we need to look at that issue. But short to medium-term, for instance, the flights that come into Heathrow that are not part of hub capacity, those could be redirected to Gatwick and Stansted.”

The position of Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, on the issue is unclear. His party pledged to build a third runway in its 2010 election manifesto but Mr Miliband has since indicated it was “no longer on the agenda”.

Lilian Greenwood, a shadow transport minister, has gone further. “Labour’s already ruled out a third runway at Heath*row, but what we’ve said is that ministers should stop fighting amongst themselves,” she said.

“Maria Eagle [the shadow transport secretary] and Ed Miliband have ruled out a third runway at Heathrow for the environmental reasons, which was the same reasons that the incoming Conservative government ruled it out.

“It’s kind of ironic that we’ve got Tory MPs trying to push Justine Greening out of her transport job for supporting Government policy.”

The Prime Minister is expected to come under pressure from his own MPs to outline more radical plans to boost economic growth when he returns from holiday next week. There are accusations that senior Conservatives are too focused on accommodating the needs of the Liberal Democrats in government.

Next Monday, David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, will publish a pamphlet entitled “There is an alternative: why the Government needs a growth policy and how to achieve it.” Dr Liam Fox, the former defence secretary, is also expected to intervene in the debate before the party conference in October.

Conor Burns, who resigned as a parliamentary prsvate Secretary to Owen Paterson, the Northern Ireland Secretary, told a newspaper that the Government needed to sharpen its focus.

“The biggest danger we face is that, in focusing on managing the politics of coalition, the public think that our remorseless drive is not on delivering on the things that matter to them, like the cost of feeding their families, heating their homes and filling up their cars,” he said.
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