Twickenham MP Launches Debate on Heathrow Expansion

10.17.06am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 7th Feb 2007

On Tuesday MP Vincent Cable will introduce a debate in parliament, with the aviation minister, attacking the government's policy of pressing ahead with a third runway and ending runway alternation to enable more flights. He will be speaking in support of the 2M group of 12 local councils including Richmond which published a report last week on the expected new noise patterns if a third runway is built. The government is expected to announce that it is going ahead at the end of March/early April.

Vincent Cable said: "the government seems likely to want to press ahead with proposals which would increase flights from 480,000 p.a. to 700,000 p.a. the impact on noise disturbance, localised - NOx - pollution and carbon emissions would be very serious. Indeed, after the recent warnings about the rapid growth in the contribution made to global warming, I find it difficult to believe that the government is quite so gung ho about expansion".

"There is, of occurs, a strong economic case but I have discovered from questions to ministers that a remarkably large number of passengers are transit passengers who make little or no contribution to the British economy. A more fundamental point is that a lot of short haul flights to provincial cities or Scotland or across the channel would be unnecessary if rail travel were more accessible and less congested".