The Metropolis

Kent MP is having none of Mayor Johnson's new estuary airport

Mike Pollitt | Monday 21 November, 2011 12:58

Mayor Johnson made a speech today warning of economic stagnation if London doesn’t increase its air capacity, and pushing the idea of a massive new airport in the Thames Estuary.

Mark Reckless is the Tory MP for Rochester and Strood, and he doesn’t like the idea one bit. Here is his very strong rebuttal. It concludes with a tasty barb.

“Now is not the time to borrow money for vanity projects.”

Quite why I interpret this as a slight on Mayor Johnson I leave for others to discern. Reckless makes a strong substantive case against the airport on grounds of cost, the existence of better alternatives, and the unconscionably ruinous environmental effects that plonking a massive airport in the middle of the Thames estuary would have. It’s a terrible, terrible idea. Stop it.

Mark Reckless – Thames Estuary Airport: Wrong For Kent, Wrong For Britain
BBC – London mayor Boris Johnson argues case for new airport
GLA’s pro airport PDF – A new airport for London
Snipe – Boris’s new airport plans dubbed ‘ridiculous’ by Kent Tories
Snipe – Thames estuary airport idea is the daftest pie in the sky

---