A Heathrow runway would show May can't be trusted
With a decision on airport expansion in the South East expected any day, people living near Heathrow and under its flight paths are waiting to see if Prime Minister Theresa May will betray them by approving a third runway.
The MP for Maidenhead has for many years opposed expansion at the airport and expressed her condemnation of plans to build another runway, particularly when the Labour Party was in government.
Many of Theresa May’s comments appeared on her own website but were later removed. However SHE unearthed many of the articles in an internet archive and these were passed to HACAN and then the Press. So if Ms May approves either of the destructive and polluting Heathrow options, she will have done so knowing the misery it will cause and knowing that it will show she is a woman whose word can't be trusted.
Here are some of her statements:
THERESA MAY KNOWS HER GOVERNMENT WOULD NEVER BE TRUSTED ON THE ENVIRONMENT IF SHE APPROVES HEATHROW EXPANSION
16 January 2009
Theresa May has spoken out against the Government’s plans to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport, which were approved by the Transport Secretary yesterday. The plans will result in an increase in flights over the local area, affecting thousands of people in Maidenhead and the surrounding area.
The Transport Secretary, Geoff Hoon, has stated that an additional 125,000 flights would be allowed each year but failed to rule out even bigger increases. Speaking in the House of Commons, Theresa questioned Mr Hoon, saying:
“As a result of today’s announcements, my constituents face the prospect of a reduction in their quality of life with more planes flying overhead, restriction in driving their cars locally and a far worse train service in Crossrail.
“...nobody will take this Government seriously on the environment again.”
I hope that the Secretary of State recognises that as a result of today’s announcement, nobody will take this Government seriously on the environment again. On a very specific point, when terminal 5 was announced, the then Secretary of State promised us a cap on the number of flights a year of 480,000. The Government have now broken their word, and this Secretary of State is playing the same game. In today’s statement he says: ‘I want there to be a limit on the initial use of the third runway so that the increase in aircraft movements does not exceed 125,000 a year’. That is an aspiration, not a commitment. Will he now say that it is a commitment, how it will be put in place and why my constituents should believe him today any more than they believed the previous Transport Secretary who put a cap on flights?”
Commenting afterwards, Theresa said: “I know from all the letters and emails I get that many local people will be devastated by the Government’s decision. A third runway will result in thousands of additional flights, increased noise and more pollution for thousands of people. The Government’s promises on the environmental impact of this are not worth the paper they are written on – there are no planes currently on the market that would allow them to meet their noise and carbon dioxide targets.”
“As I suspected all along, the Government paid no attention to the opinions expressed by members of the public and have decided to push ahead with expansion despite all the environmental warnings. We need a better Heathrow, not a bigger Heathrow.”
May 2009 - Placard reads: "Only the Conservatives can stop the Third Runway"
Theresa welcomed the Government’s decision not to proceed with ‘mixed mode’ operations at Heathrow, which would have increased the number of flights even before a third runway is built. She said, “Although this decision is welcome there are no guarantees as to how long the Government’s commitment will last, particularly given the way in which previous promises have been broken.”
THERESA MAY SAYS A THIRD RUNWAY WILL RUIN QUALITY OF LIFE
November 2008, “If it goes ahead the quality of my constituents’ life --- not only those living close to Heathrow in Maidenhead or Cookham, but those further afield in Wargrave, Twyford and north Woodley --- will deteriorate significantly.”
THERESA MAY KNOWS THE MISERY OF FLIGHT PATH CHANGES
July 2008, “The CAA confirmed many of the fears that I and others have expressed. The building of a third runway will push many of the existing departure routes from the other two runways directly over Maidenhead, and mixed-mode operations, which could come as early as 2015, would also increase the number of flights directly over Maidenhead.”
THERESA MAY KNOWS THERE IS MASSIVE OPPOSITION
December 2008, “I hope that we have a decision soon, and that the Government will recognise the widespread hostility to Heathrow expansion and say no to a third runway.”
THERESA MAY IS ANGRY THAT POLITICIANS LIE
January 2009, “When terminal 5 was announced, the then Secretary of State promised us a cap on the number of flights a year of 480,000. The Government have now broken their word. In today’s statement he says: ‘I want there to be a limit on the initial use of the third runway so that the increase in aircraft movements does not exceed 125,000 a year’…..Will he now say how it will be put in place and why my constituents should believe him today any more than they believed the previous Transport Secretary who put a cap on flights?
(Note that the number of additional flights with the current expansion proposal is twice this, i.e. 250,000 per annum.)
May 2009 - Campaigners and politicians against a third runway. Conservatives won votes in Brentford and Isleworth because they strongly opposed a third runway. Mary McLeod (third from right) became the new Conservative MP for the area in 2010 beating Labour's Ann Keen MP who was pro-runway.
THERESA MAY KNOWS THAT HER CONSTITUENCY DIDN’T WANT A THIRD RUNWAY – SHE WELCOMED ITS CANCELLATION
May 2010, “Like many local residents, I strongly welcome the cancellation of the third runway at Heathrow. Expanding Heathrow in this way would have had a detrimental effect on the Maidenhead and Twyford areas by increasing levels of noise and pollution, and today’s announcement is a victory for all those who have campaigned against it.”
We will soon find out if now that Theresa May is Prime Minister she will be true to her word and put the health and wellbeing of the British people before the profits of a foreign-owned airport.