government

Never trust a politician

By Anonymous on 27/03/2012
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So, we now know. George Osborne has spoken. He told yesterdays Financial Times: “There is no softening on the question of a third runway at Heathrow."It’s an attempt to scotch the rumours that have resurfaced again big time this weekend that the Government is about to do a U-turn on the third runway at the behest of the Chancellor.

Of course, we don’t know the private thoughts of Mr Osborne about Heathrow. We do know he likes big infrastructure. He keeps telling us that it’s essential for economic growth. That may include a new runway at Heathrow. But he’s been forced to say that the Tories won’t build one. He knows that, if people think they will renege on their promise, Boris wouldn’t be elected as Mayor of London. He knows, too, that Transport Secretary Justine Greening, who has been a vocal and effective opponent of a third runway, would need to resign. And Richmond MP Zac Goldsmith has said he would resign his seat and force a by-election if the Tories changed their mind. A U-turn would also be a gift to Labour leader Ed Milliband now that his party has dropped its support for a third runway.

Deep down, I suspect, George and Ed, and particularly Justine, know that a third runway at Heathrow has become impossible to build. They don’t want to face Plane Stupid on the roof of Parliament again, far less the thousands of people who would lose their homes or the hundreds of thousands under the Heathrow flight path.

Some in the industry, like BAA, seem still to cling to their impossible dream that one day they will get their third runway. This is a big reason for their current campaign for more airport capacity and for the adverts plastered all over the London Underground: “The road to economic recovery isn’t a road – it’s a flight path.”

However, most in business and the aviation industry would settle for a new runway anywhere in the south-east. And this is where Osborne is dangerous. Last year he said in his autumn statement the Government would "explore all options for maintaining the UK's aviation hub status, with the exception of a third runway at Heathrow". And recently David Cameron told big business “I'm not blind to the need to increase airport capacity, particularly in the south-east” before adding pointedly “Gatwick is emerging as a business airport for London, under a new owner competing with Heathrow”.

Mr Cameron, Mr Osborne, CO2 does the same harm to the environment whether the plane comes from Heathrow or Gatwick. Plane Stupid are booking our train tickets for Gatwick. Singles. Returns won’t be necessary until you get serious on the climate science and drop all airport expansion plans.  

BAA go away!

By Barry on 26/03/2012
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What’s going on behind closed doors? The government’s “sustainable aviation strategy” which was due for publication this week is delayed to the end of the summer, with no reasons given. Could it be something to do with Sir Colin Matthews from BAA and his band of environmental psychopaths bullying the government into dropping its last vestiges of being the greenest government of them all?  

BAA is throwing everything it has at the “sustainable aviation consultation” process to ensure that the result is definitely not sustainable.  

They are running an advertising campaign across London fraudulently declaring the “route to economic recovery is a flight path.” Just in case BAA doesn’t understand basic economics, our economy is in a mess because of high oil prices, bankrupt banks and rising food prices. Building new runways will not sort out the mess that we are in – it will make things far worse.  

Not content to limit itself to a fraudulent advertising campaign, BAA has got its favourite self-interested economic groups and journalists to vomit up reports on how economic growth can only happen with a third runway. Without it, they claim all business will go to Europe where every airport, runway and strip of tarmac will be expanded into an international hub. None of these pundits recognise that across Europe people have been inspired by the protests that stopped Heathrow and are organising themselves in their thousands to stop further destructive airport expansions.  

And one more thought for Sir Colin and his band of environmental psychopaths – you lost the last time and you lost everywhere. You lost in the law courts, you lost in the press, you lost public opinion and you lost at the ballot box. You lost for the simple reason that any reasonable person knows it is wrong to deliberately destroy the future through policies which knowingly worsen the already terrible plight our young people face through climate change.  

So the message to Sir Colin is this - resign. Your pursuit of a failed and immoral business strategy renders you inappropriate to run a powerful corporation. Your policy is to deliberately poison the air for the young people of today and violate their human rights.

Testing the democratic processes

By Anonymous on 15/11/2011
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Plane Stupid has laid down the gauntlet to the government that claims to be the greenest of them all.

In the spirit of democracy, we submitted our response to the government’s sustainable aviation strategy. The beating heart of their strategy is the crazy idea aviation can grow and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with demands from climate science.

They say they want to “explore how aviation growth can occur, while ensuring that it is genuinely sustainable.” It does not matter how much consultants and civil servants were paid to produce their strategy, statements like this are rubbish and will always be rubbish. An average five year old would see through it. It is the Emperor with no clothes all over again. Worst of all, it dangerously gives the impression something is happening when the intent of the process is to ensure that nothing happens.

A strategy that states “we are undertaking an assessment of the relative cost effectiveness and abatement potential of different measures for reducing aviation CO2 emissions out to 2050,” gives no cause to think that they understand what is happening. With the business-as-usual scenario which is the basis of government's strategy, the planet could not be habitable by 2050. And what should we conclude with the comment of assessing the cost effectiveness of reducing CO2? When they conclude the aviation industry will massively lose profits, they will again stick their fingers in their ears and pretend climate change is not happening.

Their strategy is based on technological innovation, biofuels and carbon trading within the European Trading Scheme. Each one of these is a failure. We prove this in our submission.

This consultation process has set “Big Aviation” swinging into battle with their billion-pound marketing budget. Adverts and press releases about how many billions the aviation industry will make are spreading like rashes. Right in the middle of the consultation process BA have launched the sickliest advert since the Wright Brothers first flew with the sole purpose of lobbying politicians.

With our marketing budget of precisely zero, we offer a more realistic alternative above. Our response to the consultation can be downloaded from HERE.

Labour finally see sense on Heathrow 3rd runway

By Anonymous on 30/09/2011
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The aviation industry thought it couldn't get any worse. In the middle of October Justine Greening, the inverterate opponent of Heathrow expansion, was made Secretary of State for Transport. Two weeks later the Labour party has announced it is dropping its previous support for a third runway at Heathrow.

The industry has spent the autumn frenetically lobbying for further airport expansion in the South East. It comes to something when weeks of frantic activiy has resulted in Justine Greening as Transport Secretary and the Labour party abandoning the third runway. Is it losing its touch?

To rub salt into its wounds, Maria Eagle, Labour's transport spokeswoman, chose to make the announcement while addressing the conference of the Airport Operators' Association at the prestigious Metrople Hilton Hotel on Edgware Road. She told the conference:

"The answer for the south-east is not going to be to fall back on the third runway at Heathrow... it is off the agenda.The political reality is that the (Heathrow) runway decision has been made and it is done".

The campaigners' chant has come true. There really will be No Third Runway!


No 3rd runway campaigner becomes transport secretary

By Anonymous on 15/09/2011
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It was the aviation industry's worst nightmare. Justine Greening made Secretary of State for Transport. Its now a reality - David Cameron appointed her on the 14th October.

Justine Greening has got form. Form that frightens the industry…..and the civil servants in her new department. She was a staunch opponent of the third runway at Heathrow. Rallies, meetings, marches, demonstrations, she was there.

More than that, she was a hugely pro-active opponent of Heathrow expansion. It was her tenacity which revealed the collusion that was going on between the civil servants in the Department for Transport and BAA, the owners of Heathrow.

The Sunday Times broke the story on 29th November 2009:

“The Government colluded with the airports operator BAA to skew evidence in favour of expanding Heathrow and play down facts that could help opponents, secret documents indicate. The government was so concerned about the content of internal emails and memos about Heathrow expansion that it spent 18 months trying to prevent them being revealed. They were obtained only after Justine Greening, Tory MP for Putney, complained to the freedom of information watchdog”.

It was this information which led to one of Plane Stupid’s most famous actions.

It’s not surprising that within hours of Justine Greening’s appointment as Transport Secretary the aviation industry’s PR machine swung into action. British Airways’ boss Willie Walsh was quoted in the Daily Telegraph saying that she was “compromised” over Heathrow expansion. Her appointment prompted a major article in the Times by its economic editor David Wighton, ‘Can growth take off without a third runway.’ In the article Wighton writes:

“Ms Greening impressed many in the transport world as a junior Treasury minister….from the aviation industry’s point of view there is just one small snag.  Ms Greening is the MP for Putney, which sits under the flight path to Heathrow, and has been one of the most prominent opponents of expansion at the airport.”

The industry is making a lot of Justine Greening’s perceived conflict of interest of representing a constituency under the flight path.  But it is a cover for the fact that it has a Transport Secretary who doesn’t share their view on a key aspect of aviation policy.  As Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative MP for the neighbouring West London constituency of Richmond, put it on twitter:   ‘BA boss says Transport Sec is 'compromised' re: Heathrow. That's what not agreeing with BA is called?’  Philip Hammond, Greening’s predecessor, also represented a constituency heavily overflown by Heathrow aircraft.  No mention from the aviation industry he might have a conflict of interest.

The irony is that Justine Greening is not against airport expansion. But she will want to base her decisions on proven facts. Perhaps thats what worries the aviation industry. It can no longer operate in a fact-free zone.

 

Reach for the sky: aviation emissions in Climate Bill

By Richard on 27/10/2008
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Reach for the sky

The government has backed down on aviation and shipping, agreeing to include both in the Climate Change Bill's 80% emissions reduction targets. They had planned to let the industry grow as much as it liked while cracking down on other sectors, but changed their mind when faced with a major backbench rebellion.

So in theory aviation emissions will have to reduce by 80% - and, as there are no sustainable fuels in the pipeline, that should mean a lot fewer flights. The problem is that like all good Labour projects, there'll be plenty of creative accounting. This time its a cunning plan to let the UK buy other countries' emissions reductions off them, perhaps by taking a bunch of greener lightbulbs and handing them out around the world. This, frankly, is cheating.

Darling's pie in the sky

By Richard on 09/10/2007
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There has been much speculation over Alistair Darling's first pre-budget report and his plans to green the aviation industry.

The chancellor has suggested replacing duty on tickets with a charge based on the type of plane and the distance it will be travelling. This will, he claims, encourage airlines to increase their efficiency (by reducing per-passenger emissions) and to use the latest and most efficient planes to further reduce their tax bills.