Letters to the editor: A surprising U-turn on Heathrow

 
Major Labour figure: Sadiq Khan (Picture: Alex Lentati)
Alex Lentati
17 June 2015
WEST END FINAL

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Mayoral hopeful Sadiq Khan has committed an act of naked opportunism by ruling out a new runway at Heathrow. Bizarrely, Khan refers to Heathrow expansion as a “Blairite policy” but as a transport minister in the Brown government, he voted for a new runway at the west London airport.

Despite recently courting London businesses by saying he will wait for the outcome of the Airports Commission, Khan now says he could think of “nothing” the commission might say to change his mind.

By shutting the door to thousands of new jobs and apprenticeships for Londoners that growth at Heathrow would provide, Khan’s manoeuvring puts him at odds with two of the UK’s biggest unions backing his campaign. Unite and GMB strongly support Heathrow expansion, not least because tens of thousands of their members work there.

Politicians can be for or against airport expansion but what the public will not tolerate are those who flip-flop on important matters for short-term gain.
Rob Gray, campaign co-ordinator, Back Heathrow

Sadiq Khan’s decision to oppose a third runway at Heathrow could turn out to be very significant. He is a major Labour figure, not just in London but throughout the UK, and his decision will put pressure on the candidates for the Labour leadership to declare where they stand.

This may also open debate in the wider Labour movement as the two big trade unions that back Khan — Unite and the GMB — support building a new runway. It is likely to force the Labour mayoral front-runner, Tessa Jowell, to state unambiguously where she stands.

It also puts pressure on the Government, as two of the leading contenders for Mayor, Khan and Zac Goldsmith, will oppose a third runway at the very time the Government will be weighing up the arguments for and against.
John Stewart, chair, HACAN

The pressure is increasing for a quick decision on airport expansion but the grim reality is more overflying noise misery for Londoners and traffic hell around airports. The option of no further expansion is equally valid but rarely mentioned.

London already has five airports and six commercial runways — it’s the best connected city in the world. The Airports Commission failed to make a convincing economic case but is pressing ahead with a new runway regardless. What is inevitable is that expansion will not stop at a third runway but lead to further demands for a fourth.

Instead of pouring billions into aviation expansion and the pockets of big business we should invest in making London a better place to live and work in.
Darren Johnson AM, Green Party member, London Assembly

Today’s animals need protection

The latest movie in the Jurassic Park franchise has just broken box office records but how much of this money will go towards conservation projects to protect some of the world’s most endangered species? It is a strange world where millions are spent making a film about extinct animals than is spent on protecting equally fascinating living creatures. Many of Africa’s animals are in danger of joining the dinosaurs in the catalogue of long-extinct species.

There is a real danger that future generations will only discover the elephant and the rhino by watching videos rather than by seeing them first-hand in their natural habitat.
Mark Stewart

While I enjoyed the review of Jurassic World last week, I only read it after seeing the film yesterday with my young son. He correctly pointed out two errors in the review. It was the mother at the airport who told the children to run if chased by anything, not their father, and it was the hunky hero who said the line about going for a walk 65 million years ago to the Jurassic World manager, rather than to the two boys.
Martin Griffiths

We are tackling the blight of knife crime

It is wrong to suggest that Boris Johnson “has failed to tackle teen knife crime”, June 12]. In fact, knife crime in London is at its lowest level in seven years, with 4,300 fewer offences in 2014-15 than in 2007-08, while the number of knife crime-related deaths has fallen by a third since 2008.

We have seen a small increase in incidences in recent months but anyone who has seen the current BBC documentary will know how seriously the Met takes its mission to reduce attacks such as these and get dangerous weapons off our streets.

The seriousness of knife and violent crime must not be underestimated, and the Mayor, the police and the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime are working tirelessly to combat it.
Stephen Greenhalgh, deputy mayor for policing and crime

Much has been done in recent years to tackle gang-related crime in London, so it is saddening to find that recent figures show violent crime is at its highest for four years.

Many young people are affected by knife crime and that’s why Crimestoppers set up a youth brand called Fearless, which aims to educate 11 to 16-year-olds about crime. It also seeks to empower them to give information anonymously through an online form.

We can always do more and we will continue to encourage young people to speak out against crime to make their communities safer.
Christopher Onwuzo, youth projects co-ordinator, Fearless

RBS sell-off is an insult to taxpayers

George Osborne is going ahead and selling off RBS at a loss of £13 billion to the taxpayer. Just a few months ago, Osborne was insisting we’d get our money back — the £45.2 billion spent to save RBS from collapse — from any sale of the bank. Now, after the election, he is selling off our shares at a massive loss to the same people who caused the financial crisis.

Rather than selling off our stake, the Government should be finding ways to make the bank work for the good of the nation and using this as an opportunity to fix our broken banking system. We can’t let Osborne throw it away.
Julie Partridge

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