Suzy Dean

Suzy Dean (Modern Movement): The Heathrow expansion project, which will see a new 7,200ft runway built and support a new terminal capable of handling 35 million passengers per year, is about to be seriously debated. This Thursday both Campaign against Climate Change (CaCC) and Modern Movement will be demonstrating outside Parliament. While CaCC will continue to make a case for abandoning plans to build a third runway at Heathrow, Modern Movement, a new organisation set up which campaigns for greater mobility, will be supporting the expansion. 

The campaign to stop the building of the third runway is a curious one - chiefly because the focus on air travel as a source of climate change is disproportionate to the impact that it actually has. If international experts are to be believed, by 2050 aviation will be responsible for 5% of total global warming, a small percentage and certainly not one that justifies the prevention of the third runway which will make millions of journeys faster and more pleasant every year. Indeed, a third runway could even be justified on environmental grounds: namely, that the existing two runways running at near-capacity force planes to circle for longer overhead while they await a landing berth (Even top climate scientist and advocate for carbon-reduction James Hansen admitted as much to the Observer, before then retracting. See here)

Despite the low impact that flying has on the environment, a large number of politicians, unions and airlines are defensive about the third runway. Both opposition parties and 28 of Brown's own cabinet voted against the third runway which won with a majority of just 19 votes. New aviation limits including new emissions targets, a commitment that only the cleanest planes can use the new flight slots and a cap on the initial number of flights that will be allowed have been welcomed. Geoff Hoon remarked that ‘taken together this gives us the toughest climate change regime for aviation of any country in the world. Colin Matthews, BAA chief executive, even commented that ‘a third runway will only go ahead if strict environmental limits are met.

Suzy Dean

Suzy Dean (London, Manifesto Club): Local government has recently been given the arduous task of leading the way towards “more active citizenship, empowered communities, and ultimately, the revival of democracy.” A White Paper, expected early this summer, will explain how. In the long run it is hoped that citizen involvement at the local level will lead to an increase in public confidence in the services and institutions delivering them.

The way in which local government has been rebranded the solution for broader political problems such as disengagement and lack of trust in political institutions, sets the scheme up for a fall.

There has been an understandable attempt by politicians to find out what the public are thinking. When there are high levels of apathy and widespread mistrust in the political system, it is not surprising that political elites want to know what will make people want to engage with them. So far, this has proved unsuccessful at the national level of politics where despite endless opinions polling and citizens’ juries on almost every aspect of policy, there seems to be little that really inspires people to vote, let alone join a party. Following this lack of success throughout central government, local government has taken on the challenge, on the basis that the public may be more interested in their local area.

There are a number of indications that local politics will not be able to renew a sense of faith in politics.