Vince Cable

Vincent Cable campaigning against a third runway at Heathrow

Both local MPs backed the protest march on Saturday against Heathrow expansion and a third runway.

Vincent Cable MP walked from Hatton Cross with local councillors (Liz Jaeger, Whitton and Munira Wilson, West) and hundreds of local residents to the site of the third runway in Sipson village. The march occurred a couple of days before parliament considers a new Planning Bill designed to help the government push through big new infrastructure projects without the hindrance of a planning enquiry.

Vincent Cable said: "the march brought together people who were concerned about the local environment - aircraft noise, pollution and loss of homes - and others who are worried about the wider environmental damage from aviation emissions. However I reject the idea that this is a simple choice between environment and the economy. The economic case for Heathrow expansion was recently demolished in a report by the accountants, Deloitte. With oil prices soaring, it becomes increasingly implausible to believe that it makes sense to provide a lot more capacity on the assumption that demand will rise, as before. "