This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/dec/19/nick-clegg-drop-opposition-airport-expansion-davies-gatwick-boris

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Nick Clegg may drop party opposition to airport expansion after Davies report Nick Clegg may drop party opposition to airport expansion after Davies report
(about 4 hours later)
Nick Clegg has indicated that he may be prepared to drop his party's opposition to the expansion of airport capacity in the south-east of England. Nick Clegg has indicated that he may be prepared to drop his party's opposition to the expansion of airport capacity in south-east England.
In his final appearance of the year on his weekly LBC radio phone-in, the deputy prime minister praised the Airports Commission for making "subtle arguments" which had led it to raise the possibility of building a second runway at Gatwick.In his final appearance of the year on his weekly LBC radio phone-in, the deputy prime minister praised the Airports Commission for making "subtle arguments" which had led it to raise the possibility of building a second runway at Gatwick.
The Liberal Democrats gave a clear commitment in their manifesto for the last general election to rule out airport expansion in the south-east of England. The party pledged: "Cancel plans for the third runway at Heathrow and any expansion of other airports in the south-east." The Liberal Democrats gave a clear commitment in their manifesto for the last general election to rule out airport expansion in the south-east. The party pledged to "cancel plans for the third runway at Heathrow and any expansion of other airports in the south-east".
Clegg indicated that he may be prepared to change his mind when he expressed interest in the proposal by the Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, for a second runway at Gatwick. Davies said the commission, which will produce a final report after the 2015 election, was examining three proposals to expand airport capacity in the south-east: a new runway at Heathrow; extending Heathrow's existing runway; or building a second runway at Gatwick when restrictions are lifted in 2019. It has also commissioned a study into the so called "Boris Island" airport in the Thames Estuary. The Airports Commission, which is chaired by Sir Howard Davies, is examining three proposals to expand airport capacity in the region: a new runway at Heathrow; extending Heathrow's existing runway; or building a second runway at Gatwick when restrictions are lifted in 2019. The commission, which will produce a final report after the 2015 election, has also commissioned a study into the so called "Boris Island" airport in the Thames Estuary.
The deputy prime minister dismissed the Thames Estuary airport out of hand and said that on Heathrow and Gatwick he would not agree to any airport expansion that would increase existing levels on noise and air pollution or would breach Britain's climate change targets. But he praised Davies for making "subtle arguments" in his report about how the biggest growth in aviation will come from "point-to-point" flights, where a traveller flies straight to one destination, rather than "hub" flights in which a traveller lands at a large airport such as Heathrow and makes an immediate connection elsewhere. This prompted Davies to make a second runway at Gatwick one of his official options. The deputy prime minister dismissed the idea of a Thames Estuary airport, and said he would not agree to any expansion at Heathrow or Gatwick that would increase existing levels on noise and air pollution or would breach Britain's climate change targets. But he praised Davies's report for predicting that the biggest growth in aviation would come from "point-to-point" flights – whereby a traveller flies straight to one destination – rather than "hub" flights – whereby a traveller lands at a large airport such as Heathrow and makes an immediate connection elsewhere. This prompted Davies to make a second runway at Gatwick one of his official options.
Clegg told LBC Radio on his weekly phone-in: "I am the sort of person who generally tries to be led by the evidence … In his interim report he [Davies] actually makes some quite subtle arguments. Clegg told LBC Radio: "I am the sort of person who generally tries to be led by the evidence … In his interim report he [Davies] actually makes some quite subtle arguments.
"If you are in favour of airport expansion you then have to decide why you are doing it. Some people say you need to do it to create a hub. That is what the people around Heathrow say – they say, oh it it is the hub, the hub. Actually he says there is quite a strong case to say real growth in aviation will be these point to point flights – not hub flights where you need connections to ongoing flights. That is the case for Gatwick. "If you are in favour of airport expansion you then have to decide why you are doing it. Some people say you need to do it to create a hub. That is what the people around Heathrow say – they say, 'Oh it is the hub, the hub.' Actually he [Davies] says there is quite a strong case to say real growth in aviation will be these point-to-point flights – not hub flights where you need connections to ongoing flights. That is the case for Gatwick.
"Where I am very rigid is on the environmental tests in of this. That is why I have been sceptical. I don't like the idea of turning our back on our climate change commitments.""Where I am very rigid is on the environmental tests in of this. That is why I have been sceptical. I don't like the idea of turning our back on our climate change commitments."
In a separate interview on the Today programme Vince Cable said he stands by his view that Heathrow will not be expanded as he he echoed Clegg's praise for the commission's focus on "point-to-point" flights. But Cable said this could lead to an expansion of regional airports, rather than Gatwick. On Thursday, the business secretary, Vince Cable, echoed Clegg's praise for the commission's focus on point-to-point flights, but said this could lead to an expansion of regional airports, rather than Gatwick.
The business secretary told Today: "It is a very well argued report as you'd expect from Howard Davies...The way forward is building on a trend that there are more point-to-point services, making more use of provincial airports. One of the big problems we have at the moment, which I don't think the report sufficiently addresses, is that London is becoming a kind of giant suction machine draining the life out of the rest of the country. More balance in that respect would be helpful." He told BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "It is a very well argued report as you'd expect from Howard Davies …The way forward is building on a trend that there are more point-to-point services, making more use of provincial airports. One of the big problems we have at the moment, which I don't think the report sufficiently addresses, is that London is becoming a kind of giant suction machine draining the life out of the rest of the country. More balance in that respect would be helpful."
Clegg's emphasis on point-to-point flights, rather than a "hub" airport, highlights the impact of the interim Davies report in changing thinking. In a Guardian interview last year Clegg said it was important to preserve the hub status of Heathrow which could be achieved by using spare capacity at other airports in the south-east, such as Gatwick, without expanding them. Cable added that he stood by his view that Heathrow would not be expanded.
He said: "I personally think if you look at the way in which capacity is distributed across London's four airports there is something in the short to medium term we should be doing to try to re-jig that capacity so that Heathrow plays its role as the de facto hub airport. Clegg's emphasis on point-to-point flights, rather than a "hub" airport, highlights the impact of the interim Davies report in changing thinking. In a Guardian interview last year the deputy prime minister said: "I personally think if you look at the way in which capacity is distributed across London's four airports there is something in the short to medium term we should be doing to try to rejig that capacity so that Heathrow plays its role as the de facto hub airport.
"At the moment you have one airport, Heathrow, that is bursting to capacity and three others – Gatwick, Stansted and Luton – which are under capacity. There are a lot of flights going into Heathrow that aren't necessary for its hub status. If you are being logical about this you would shift a lot of the current flights out of Heathrow to the other three airports, freeing up that hub capacity for Heathrow. You could do that and then have a longer term debate about how you deal with hub capacity over the coming decades.""At the moment you have one airport, Heathrow, that is bursting to capacity and three others – Gatwick, Stansted and Luton – which are under capacity. There are a lot of flights going into Heathrow that aren't necessary for its hub status. If you are being logical about this you would shift a lot of the current flights out of Heathrow to the other three airports, freeing up that hub capacity for Heathrow. You could do that and then have a longer term debate about how you deal with hub capacity over the coming decades."
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.