The Government this week nearly faced a universal condemnation for its failure to make a decision about airports. Whilst the reason for putting off the decision yet again, to examine air quality issues, may be quite understandable, the problems faced by potentially expanding Heathrow do not go away.
Critically the politics surrounding get more complicated, not less. The non-decision does mean that the London Mayoral can go ahead without the Conservative candidate, Zac Goldsmith, potentially having fallen out with his Government. However, both Zac and Sadiq Khan, the Labour candidate, are anti-Heathrow so whatever the outcome, politically London will not want Heathrow.
‘We are the builders’ may be the cry from the Government, ‘unless its an airport’ could be the response.
So what can we learn from the political news this week?
- Dave not getting what he wants. The messages coming out of Brussels are that the Government is going to have to compromise over its demands for welfare reform. But Dave has been talking tough and suggesting that the migrant crisis is forcing people towards Brexit. There appears to be a direct correlation between noise about Brexit and how well discussions are proceeding.
- ‘Trump’ed up charge. Donald Trump’s claims about radicalised Muslims and ‘no-go’ areas in London received a swift response from political leaders and the police. With Trump trying hard to improve his chances of being the Republican candidate for President, it appears that he is prepared to say outrageous things but retort when anyone disagreeing with him as simply being ‘politically correct’.
- Blair is back. In an article in The Spectator, Blair has found someone willing to stand up for his time as leader and his record in Government, Tony Blair himself. Whilst the Labour Party appears afraid to talk about his achievements and his ability to win election, Blair himself is not.
- Back to old style PMQs. With George Osborne facing Angela Eagle at this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions, it was back to the loud, rowdy, and humorous set-piece event of old, well pre-Jeremy Corbyn. What was most noticeable was that MPs really seemed to enjoy it, which is not always case when Corbyn uses questions from the public to challenge the PM.
- Storm Desmond causes chaos. Following the floods caused by Storm Desmond, there was some immediate donning of wellington boots and visits to the areas hit hard. The critical question for the Government though is how much money would they want to spend on flood defences, where should the money be spent and most importantly whether the models being used to assess flood risk really reflect the impact that climate change is having on the weather.