Richmond speaks: no expansion!

As part of the government's 'consultation', they've been hosting exhibitions around West London to explain the expansion. Their Westminster event was gate-crashed by Greenpeace, who denounced the consultation as an 'airfix'.

Residents in Richmond were polled as they left their exhibition - and the results are not what BAA want to hear. Only half of those questioned felt that they had been told what they needed to know about the expansion, with 49% of people still uncertain as to how they would be affected were the plans to increase flights to 700,000 per year given the go-ahead.

More worryingly for the government is the widespread opposition to expansion. 73% strongly opposed the third runway, and 11% opposed it. Neither had the residents bought the economic argument: 71% strongly disagreed with the suggestion that London needed a new runway to compete.

The good people of Richmond also felt that the consultation was a stich-up. Just 6% thought the Government would take their views into account, and 2% thought that government had not already made up its mind.

The consultation ends on the 27th of February. Let battle commence.