Heathrow (Third Runway)

I am profoundly against the building of a third runway at Heathrow, because of the impact of aviation on the environment. I do not believe that an extra runway should be built in the UK—not at Heathrow, not in the north of England, not on the Thames estuary. Planes not only emit CO2 but speed up global warming by emitting further damaging gases at altitude. Unless we restrict them, emissions from aviation are set to increase to five times their current levels. All that is at a time when we simply must cut our carbon emissions. However, if the Opposition parties think that because of those firmly held beliefs I will vote for their motion this afternoon, they must be stark staring bonkers. It is based on an early-day motion that was tabled last year. When that motion urged the Government to rethink and give"““full consideration to alternative solutions””," it meant that they should consider rail, restrictions on short internal flights and a host of other measures, but the Tories have hijacked it. The hype surrounding it led environmentalists to expect a motion today that would oppose the expansion of aviation on the basis of its effect on the environment. Well, it does not do that. It does not provide the strong, green leadership, for which many of my constituents and non-governmental organisations may have hoped. It does not deal with the question of why the rest of the world should suffer for the benefit of the few and it is not about the urgency of reducing our emissions and the challenge of realising that goal. The motion speaks of"““full consideration of alternative solutions””" to Heathrow expansion in a week when the most powerful Tory in the land, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, sailed up the Thames on a dredger to show us two islands on which he wants to build four runways for the biggest airport in Britain. That ““alternative”” to Heathrow is an airport four times as big as Gatwick, which allows people to get into their Chelsea tractors, drive to the wilds of east London and catch a plane there without the hassle of the crowds at Heathrow. That is the Tory policy and I will not vote for it. The hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs. Villiers) told us today that she does not rule out expansion in the south-east. However, she is not prepared to state the extent of the carbon emissions that would be permissible in that expansion. She also says that she is in favour of proportionate expansion of regional airports, but she is not prepared to give us any details about that, either. Do the Tories genuinely believe that the public will not notice that? Exactly what are the Liberal Democrats doing supporting the motion? What is their policy? I do not know. Some people might describe it as political opportunism, but I am sure that that cannot be true. I understood that they opposed aviation expansion—my local Liberals claim to oppose it—but perhaps they do not. Today, they have said that they oppose the expansion of aviation in the south-east, but the Tories are in favour of it. Both parties are held together in some unholy alliance. I will certainly not vote for the motion. Environmentalists have been dazzled by the hype, and the Tories should apologise to the green movement, especially Greenpeace, which is based in my constituency and has been manipulated by the Conservatives into being their cheerleaders. They should apologise to the more than 6,000 people who have written to and e-mailed me, urging me to support the motion because they believed that it was anti-expansion, when it is pro-expansion.