Tories plan £20bn 180mph rail link instead of Heathrow third runway

[muriel_volestrangler]

The headline you thought you'd never see:

A third runway at Heathrow airport would be scrapped by a Tory government that would instead build a £20bn TGV-style high speed rail link between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

In one of David Cameron's boldest moves on the environment, the party will today unveil plans to cut 66,000 flights a year from Heathrow by tempting passengers on to the first new rail line north of London in more than a century.

Theresa Villiers, the shadow transport secretary, told the Guardian last night: "This is a seriously green decision. A few years ago it would have been inconceivable for the leader of the Conservative party to say no to a third runway and putting the brakes on Heathrow expansion."
...
Greenpeace last night welcomed the announcement. John Sauven, its executive director, said: "The Conservatives have recognised that decisions taken now on high carbon projects like new runways and coal-fired power stations will make or break our chances of tackling climate change in the future."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/sep/29/toryconference.transport

[non sociopath skin]

1. The Local Press in the North East are furious that the region has been excluded.

... as are local Businesses and politicos (including Tories).

http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2008/09/29/region-will-miss-out-on-20bn-rail-link-plans-61634-21919073/

It will actually lose the Tories votes in places like Sunderland where they have been doing well.

The Skin

[enlightenment]

2. Personally, I think this is a good idea.

But - though I know it's all just politics, all this flip-flop positioning is causing cognitive dissonance - Lib Dems looking like Tories, Tories looking like old Labour, Labour looking like . . . um . . . well, a lot like the Bush administration. Democrats looking like Republicans (woohoo! Tax cuts! Terror!) and Republicans looking like Democrats (think of the little guy!) . . .

I need a vacation.

[harmonicon]

3. I would also welcome it

.... especially if it included a stop at Heathrow - if there won't be more air traffic, they could at least make it easier to access. If it wasn't too expensive, it would also mean that I might go to london more often, though it's still less than 3 hours from Leeds to London as is.