Better Transport

21 July:  I spoke today at the launch of a report by the 2M group which said that high-speed rail could be a real alternative to expansion at Heathrow.  The report was produced by Colin Elliff, an engineer with 25 years' experience of working in the rail industry.  It showed high-speed rail could bring cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and even Edinburgh and Glasgow within in easy reach of Heathrow and London and, indeed, could provide a viable alternative to many places in near-Europe. 

Although the initial capital cost of high-speed rail would be high, this would, over the decades, be more than offset by the economic benefits it would bring to the regional economies of the UK. 

So far, sadly, the Department for Transport has ruled out high-speed rail as an alternative short-haul air travel. When will it see sense? Probably not until it ceases to act as an arm of the aviation industry.  For more details on the high-speed rail scheme check out the 2M Group.

2 June: Last weekend I took part in the biggest protest against Heathrow’s expansion so far – several thousands people from all walks of life gathered to show their opposition to the third runway. We’ve always argued that people need alternatives to flying, but recent hikes in the price of oil have shown just how precarious the case for expansion really is.

Colleagues from Campaign for Better Transport make their feelings felt!

As their fuel costs go up the airlines push up ticket prices or charge more for ‘extras’, like taking a bag with you, or sitting next to a family member. This reduces demand as people decide not to travel, or go by train instead. The airlines are already affected by this, with both Ryanair and British Airways planning to ground around 10% of their planes later this year.

So if oil prices keep going up, and demand keeps falling, who will be taking the extra 900 flights a day that Heathrow’s third runway will accommodate? The Government would be better off making Heathrow better, and providing decent alternatives, than on digging in its heels and pushing ahead with a runway that no one wants or will use.

9 May: Today is Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly’s 40th birthday and our friends at Hacan ClearSkies presented Ms Kelly with some cake.  The cake was iced with the word NO, to remind Ms Kelly that there should be no new runway at Heathrow. If you agree, you might wish to email Ms Kelly: kellyr@parliament.uk.  

25 April: With just days left before London's mayoral election, the gloves are definitely off. But all four of the main candidates agree on one thing: expanding Heathrow Airport would be a disaster. Ken Livingstone (Labour), Boris Johnson (Conservative), Brian Paddick (Liberal Democrat) and Sian Berry (Green) have all come out strongly against the Government's proposals to build a third runway at the airport. This unusual harmony proves that expanding Heathrow would be bad for London, as well as for the planet.

If you agree, come along to a march, rally and carnival on May 31, starting at noon at Hatton Cross.

2 April: Seems that arguments claiming Heathrow expansion is necessary for the economy might be a bit overblown. Last week the Economist ran an article that poked holes in many of the economic myths. Last month, Simon Jenkins wrote in the Sunday Times that "The claim that Heathrow expansion is 'vital' for British business is palpable rubbish." A recent report from independent researchers CE Delft (pdf) found that the economic benefits of Heathrow expansion were overstated and misleading.

Let's hope the Government listens! 

13 March: Heathrow Terminal 5 opens on Thursday 27 March. If you’re unhappy about rampant airport expansion, here’s one way to show your opposition...

1. Order a free STOP AIRPORT EXPANSION T-shirt by emailing stopairportexpansion@gmail.com
2. Head for Heathrow Terminal 5 on the day of the opening
3. At 11am, reveal your T-shirt to the crowds and media

This peaceful, legal event is being organised by a group of people concerned about airport expansion in the light of climate change and local impacts. To find out more visit the Stop Airport Expansion website.

28 February: Today our executive director Stephen Joseph is meeting with Gordon Brown. The Prime Minister has called tackling climate change "the great project of this generation". Along with representatives from other NGOs Stephen will try to ensure that Gordon Brown's words translate into effective action, not least by arguing that airport expansion is incompatible with the Government's aim of cutting carbon emissions.

26 February: Over 3,000 people attended last night's hugely successful Stop Heathrow Expansion rally. More than 15 speakers voiced strong opposition to the plans which would see a third runway built north of Heathrow by 2020 and a sixth terminal. If the plans go ahead, an entire village will be destroyed and people in West London will lose their half day's peace and quiet thanks to many more planes on the existing runways.

Speaking at the meeting Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg asked: "Where is the box that simply says no, no, no?” and went on to say, "Illness, stress, congestion, climate change - how can the Government claim that these add up to a good idea?”

Earlier on the day of the rally Greenpeace activists climbed on top of a short-haul flight parked at Heathrow Terminal One and unfurled a banner that read 'CLIMATE EMERGENCY – NO 3rd RUNWAY'.

The rally was organised by Heathrow residents' group HACAN ClearSkies and NoTRAG (No Third Runway Action Group) and supported by 14 councils in the Heathrow area.

Addressing the rally London Mayor Ken Livingstone said: "There is no case whatsoever for expansion of Heathrow Airport," and: "What we want to see is no further increase in air travel at all, quite frankly."

Campaign for Better Transport responded to the consultation on the expansion of Heathrow  by stressing the need for investment in alternatives to aviation. Aviation taxes must increase so that air travellers pay their fair share of tax while rail fares must be decreased to ensure that public transport is a realistic option for travellers.

20 February: It's going to be big. So big and so good, in fact, that I'm willing to say it'll be the rally of the season! Bit of live music, some videos, speeches; please join me and thousands of other people on Monday. It's time to tell the Government we don't support its plans to expand airports. This rally is being organised by HACAN. See you there! 25 February, 7pm, Westminster Central Hall.

15 February: Anti-Heathrow expansion group HACAN has published a report (PDF) today by respected economists CE Delft that shows that economic claims for the expansion of Heathrow have been massively overstated. This received great coverage in the Financial Times. We hope the Government will read this report, instead of only listening to the aviation industry.

Meanwhile I have been speaking at public meetings every evening for the last few weeks for residents whose lives will be ruined by expansion. The meetings have been jam-packed, and will end in a massive rally at Westminster Central Hall on 25 February at 7pm, as the Government’s consultation ends. I hope to see you there.

21 January: If you want to respond to the consultation on the expansion of Heathrow Airport, the deadline is 27 February. Responding to a consultation sounds a bit daunting, but you don't need to write an essay! All you need to do is say 'no', and one of the easiest ways to do this is to send a postcard. Pre-printed cards are available through AirportWatch: email sarah@airportwatch.org.uk.

And if you're concerned about the effects of expanding Heathrow (a near doubling of flights and huge increases in CO2 emissions, noise and air pollution, as well as the bulldozing of entire communities), keep 25 February free. Two days before the consultation ends there will be a big rally at Central Hall, Westminster at 7pm. Bring your friends!

20 December: We've just asked Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly to meet with us. Last week, on the Today programme, the Environment Secretary tried to make the case that the Government's airport expansion policy was compatible with tackling climate change. I can't see how this could be so but look forward to Ruth Kelly trying to explain it to me. I'll let you know how the meeting goes.

8 December: Aviation campaigners were among thousands who marched through central London today to call for urgent action on climate change. The demonstration - and many others worldwide - coincided with UN climate change talks in Bali. If, as it claims, the Government is serious about tackling climate change, it must put a halt to its aggressive airport expansion plans.

28 November: Gwyneth Dunwoody's Transport Select Committee is known as one of the best shows in town. The veteran Labour MP presides over proceedings with aplomb.  But today she was upstaged when the direct action group Plane Stupid invaded the committee’s inquiry hearing into the future of Heathrow. 

The direct action protestors, wearing 'No Third Runway' t-shirts, timed their protest against Heathrow expansion to perfection. Giving evidence were the Aviation Minister Jim Fitzpatrick, the chief executive of BAA and some airlines. 

The message to the Government could not be clearer: until it abandons its environmentally and socially destructive, and economically unnecessary, plans to expand Heathrow, protests of all sorts will mushroom.

22 November: The Government's proposals published today to expand Heathrow are enormous: a near-doubling of flights, a new runway, a new terminal and new flight paths - and therefore new people affected by aircraft noise.

Thankfully, the opposition to these damaging proposals is equallly enormous. Many, many groups, politicians, businesses and individuals know these plans - which will increase air pollution, noise pollution and CO2 and result in hundreds or probably thousands of homes being destroyed - are not sensible. If they go ahead, we will be a poorer society, not a richer one. 

The Government is facing a huge battle.

I encourage you to read and respond to today's consultation.

21 November: The Government wants to expand Heathrow airport. Tomorrow they'll be asking us what we think of building a third runway and a 6th terminal.

If the Government’s proposals go ahead, the number of flights using the airport will nearly double, with big increases in CO2 emissions. Former Aviation Minister Gillian Merron told Parliament earlier this year that flight numbers could reach 800,000 per year (500 extra flights a day) if a third runway goes ahead. That’s up from 473,000 last year and would result in more flights and more noise for residents across London and the Home Counties.

The Heathrow consultation will last for a minimum of three months, in line with European legislation, but will need to end before the official start of the London Mayoral elections in May 2008.

Britain's airports can't be allowed to expand:

• If we are serious about tackling climate change. According to the Government's own figures, aviation is already responsible for 13% of the UK's climate impact and is one of the fastest growing sources of CO2
• If we are concerned about the quality of life of people around airports and under flight paths. Over 3 million people in the UK say they are already disturbed by aircraft noise.
• If we are to build an economy that is based on sustainable travel.

30 October: The DfT's response today to the Eddington and Stern reports contained nothing new on aviation. Instead it was business as usual, with the Department forecasting "significant growth" in aviation and "growth in capacity" for airports. In the same month as we learnt that UK flights emit the same amount of CO2 as the 15 poorest countries' total CO2 emissions, this simply isn't good enough. Government needs to take real, bold action on aviation before it's too late.

10 October: What are we to make of Alistair Darling’s sudden embrace of the idea of taxing planes rather than passengers' tickets? It still leaves the aviation industry under-taxed. The original Air Passenger Duty (APD) was introduced by Kenneth Clarke to help make up for the short-fall in aviation’s contribution to general taxation, not as an environmental tax. Environmental taxes should have been imposed on it as well. The aviation industry will be delighted that the new tax on planes, replacing APD, has become an environmental tax. It will give them the chance to argue that they should not pay any further environmental taxes or charges.

The new tax also threatens to make things worse for people around airports for it entrenches still further the low-carriers. They will pay a lower plane tax than long-distance flights. This may make sense in terms of emissions, but it does nothing to cut the number of short-haul flights which are the main cause of increasing noise problems at the nation’s airports. Airlines should be paying the full costs of the emissions and noise they produce as well as their fair share of general taxation.

9 October: The Chancellor Alistair Darling announced today that aviation duty would be paid on flights, rather than individual passengers. The announcement came in the Chancellor's pre-Budget report and Comprehensive Spending Review statement.

We welcome this: the aviation industry currently pays no fuel tax or VAT so it's right they contribute something to the economy. But we need to see investment in sustainable alternatives to short-distance air travel, such as rail links.

25 September: Still at the Labour Party conference. Today’s Greenpeace fringe meeting, "Does business need bigger airports", was packed and one of the most fractious events so far at the conference. At the meeting Roger Wiltshire of the General British Air Transport Association challenged the international scientific community by rejecting the science that reveals that greenhouse gases emitted by aircraft at altitude are more damaging than those emitted at ground level. Speakers also drew parallels between protests against airport expansion and protests against road building in the 1990s. Bearing in mind that the 1990s road-building programme collapsed as a result of public opinion and community protest... the future could be brighter and possibly quieter.

24 September: The industry lobby group Flying Matters were out in force (all two of them) at the Labour party conference today. At a fringe meeting they stated that 50% of the population don't fly at all and also that 7% of the population fly 7 times a year or more. Although, strangly these facts were used as an excuse not to tax aviation fuel. Allegedly, "It would punish the poorest the most." The real facts speak a different truth: aviation taxes would clearly hit this 7% the hardest and as they are overwhelmingly better off than the majority of us it is hard to see how this is targeting the poor. Others at the meeting pointed out that this was the case but I don’t know whether the message got through...

If anyone sees the Rt Hon Brian Wilson why not ask him.

21 August: The Camp for Climate Action was a complete success, attracting over 1,500 people for peaceful direct action against airport expansion. A huge amount of news coverage was generated which will undoubtedly go some way to shifting the public and political debate… shades of the 1990s anti-road building movement!

6 August: BAA have failed in their attempt to ban 5 million people from Heathrow and transport links around it. They have only succeeded in getting an injunction against the group Plane Stupid and three specific campaigners including John Stewart, chair of Transport 2000. But John was happy – he said: “BAA wanted the mother of all injunctions. It has received the mother of all setbacks”.

27 July: BAA is seeking an injunction to ban climate change protestors from Heathrow Airport. They’re worried about the Camp for Climate Action planned for next month. What they’re calling for is really extreme. It would cover members of 15 environmental groups including Campaign for Better Transport, the National Trust and RSPB – hardly notorious for direct action. It would effectively ban 5 million people from the airport and transport links around it.