In response to rumours that the Government may soon sign off expansion proposals for Luton, Gatwick and Heathrow Airports, Siân Berry, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion said:
“We must ask who these decisions would be made for and why. Whose advice is the Government listening to, when record-high wealth inequality is causing harm to the economy and society in many different ways, and while frequent flying is the preserve of the super-rich?
“The aviation lobby is loud and well-funded, but the Government should instead be listening to scientists and its own Climate Change Committee, which has already urged a halt to overall airport expansion. The previous Labour government’s poor record on airport expansion doesn’t have to continue.
“If Ed Miliband is serious in his role as Net-Zero Minister, he will work to prevent the Chancellor and Transport Secretaries making a huge mistake, and advise the Chancellor to not make any dangerous new decisions until they have heard and listened to the new advice from the Climate Change Committee which is due in February.”
ENDS
Notes:
- Between 2011 and 2019, the UK’s wealth gap grew by 50% (https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/inequalities/2024/10/29/the-uks-wealth-gap-has-grown-by-50-in-eight-years/)
- The Climate Change Committee’s 2023 Progress Report to Parliament calls for a halt to all UK airport expansion