The Government & Aviation

Press aticles

A parliamentary inquiry into lobbying, launched on 21st June 2007, considered external regulation, government interaction and funding by lobby groups. Details of BAA's lobbying groups and its close links to government formed part of this inquiry.

Written evidence submitted shows that a level playing field does not exist when it comes to BAA and BA securing meetings with the Secretary of State or the Under-Secretary of State for Transport.

The public administration select committee report said: "There has been widespread public concern that some areas of government policy have effectively been captured at an early stage by interest groups, usually within industry, and that public consultations have been unbalanced in the favour of these interests." It named Heathrow as an example of this and concluded that lobbying needed to be open to public scrutiny.

A separate investigation also revealed that BAA and the government “fixed” environmental targets while researching the impact of the third runway.

Some articles on these and similar subjects are referenced here.

Early Day Motions

On 17th December, 2008, an Early Day Motion (EDM) demanding a vote on the third runway in the Commons was submitted. Gordon Brown has refused a vote.

To see which MPs have signed this EDM, please click on the title below.

"ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THIRD RUNWAY AT HEATHROW"

On 27th October, 2008, an EDM opposing the government's policy on the third runway was submitted for debate in the Commons. Although few EDMs make it to the floor of the House, a debate was held on 11th November, 2008, with the number of MPs speaking out against Heathrow expansion vastly outnumbering those in favour.

To see which MPs signed this EDM, please click the title below.

"GOVERNMENT POLICY ON THIRD RUNWAY AT HEATHROW AIRPORT"

Geoff Hoon resigns as pressure builds on Gordon Brown PDF Print E-mail
Friday, 05 June 2009 00:00

Geoff Hoon has become the fifth Cabinet minister to resign in a week as Gordon Brown battles to maintain his authority.
 
The Transport Secretary's departure follows that John Hutton, the Defence Secretary, this morning and James Purnell, the Work and Pensions Secretary, last night. Tony McNulty, the employment minister, has also stepped down.
 
In response to the crisis, Mr Brown had brought forward a planned reshuffle to shore up support but the resignations threaten to overshadow the new appointments.

"What we see today is a Government that is so weak it's hard to believe. The Prime Minister isn't reshuffling his Cabinet - they are reshuffling themselves," David Cameron told party activists in Devon, one of a number of successful areas for the Conservatives in local elections. "People who are watching this today will think, 'If you can't run a reshuffle, if you can't run a Cabinet, how can anyone expect you to run the country'.

Read the full article in The Telegraph.


More to the point, where does this leave Heathrow expansion?

Of the main protagonists, only Brown remains. Mandelson's support was for political expediency but the crisis now threatening the Labour Party must throw such a controversial policy into doubt.

A change of government would kill off expansion. It remains to be seen if a change of prime minister would do the same.

In the meantime, goodbye Buff. You will not be missed.
 
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