Sadiq Khan makes one small step in the right direction
At the start of the week Morning Wire asked – "will Sadiq Khan live up to his promise of being London’s most pro-business mayor?" The victorious Labour candidate may have set himself a tough target, but he has at least started on a positive note by dropping City Hall’s objection to expansion plans at City Airport.
The objection had been obdurately insisted upon by Khan’s predecessor Boris Johnson, who ignored the advice of his planners and of Newham Council. Johnson, of course, still vehemently opposes the construction of a third runway at Heathrow – as does Khan.
Yesterday Heathrow revealed a series of concessions, agreeing to cut back night flights and pledging to meet broader standards on noise and pollution. It was a well-timed move, piling pressure on the government to get its act together as soon as possible this summer. The decision on airport expansion has been constantly stuck on the backburner, and now sits, simmering, until the country has resolved an admittedly bigger issue on 23 June – whether or not to stay in the EU.
But once our politico-economic-existential crisis is, hopefully, resolved, David Cameron will find himself out of excuses. There is just enough time before the summer recess to make progress on this most pressing of issues; the Prime Minister must not be caught twiddling his thumbs.
Read more: Let London City Airport expand and we’ll all enjoy the benefits
The burden lies primarily, but not singularly, with the government. To borrow a cliché from the Westminster bubble, many of its inhabitants need to decide what is more important – political point-scoring, or the best interests of the country. With some Tory MPs certain to oppose expansion (especially at Heathrow), it wouldn’t take much for Labour and the SNP to impose a defeat in any vote that reaches the Commons.
If Britain is ever to enjoy greater airport capacity – either at Gatwick or Heathrow – it will require a considerable untangling of political interests in Westminster. This is far easier said than done, and necessitates the kind of swift, constructive pragmatism demonstrated by Khan’s move on City Airport. That decision by the new mayor was welcome, but is only one small step towards the level of aviation capacity we desperately need.