Introduction
For a further discussion, see: https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/australia/qantas-launches-flight-to-nowhere-for-frequent-flyers.html [Accessed 8 January 2023].
See Quantas Group, ‘Managing climate risk’, Available from: https://www.qantas.com/gb/en/qantas-group/acting-responsibly/our-planet/managing-climate-risk.html [Accessed 4 November, 2021].
See Stay Grounded (2020) Airports conflicts – Struggles for Environmental Justice, Available from: https://stay-grounded.org/airport-conflicts-struggles-for-environmental-justice-webinar-summary/ [Accessed 12 December, 2021].
A return flight from London Stansted to Edinburgh generates approximately 0.298t CO2. The estimated maximum annual allowance per person of CO2 if we are to stop climate change is 0.600t CO2. Based on MyClimate calculations, Available from: https://co2.myclimate.org/en/flight_calculators/new [Accessed 18 October, 2021].
See Greenskies, Available from: http://www.aef.org.uk/downloads/Factsheetairquality.pdf [Accessed 21 October, 2021].
In the summer of 2022, Heathrow Airport announced that the HCEB was to be succeeded by a new body, the Council for the Independent Scrutiny of Heathrow Airport (CISHA). Echoing the rhetorical appeals of the Airports Commission for Heathrow to be a ‘better neighbour’, the mission of CISHA was to ‘hold the airport to account and work to help ensure it is the best neighbour it can be.’ The first chair of the new body was announced as Baroness Liz Sugg, Minister for Aviation, 2017-2019. To view the commitments and work of the CISHA, see https://www.cisha.org/about [Accessed 5 March, 2023].
Our methodological approach builds upon and extends ideas and research, which have been developed in: Howarth, 2000; Glynos and Howarth, 2007; Griggs and Howarth, 2013, 2019; Barnett et al, 2019.
Chapter 1
We share Hay’s concerns about Schmitt’s strong definition of the political as the opposition between friend and enemy. But, along with Chantal Mouffe (1993, 2005), we accept the importance of conflict and contestation as a defining feature of the political, so long as this fundamental opposition is rendered compatible with the requirements of a liberal and plural democracy. Ideally, for us, the opposition between friend and enemy should take the form of an agonistic struggle between adversaries, who share a commitment to an underlying set of democratic norms and values, rather than a singular and purely antagonistic relation between friends and enemies that seek to destroy one another.
We are indebted to Daniel Little’s blog ‘Hirschman on the passions’, which we draw upon in the development of our argument here, see: https://understandingsociety.blogspot.com/2013/05/hirschman-on-passions.html [Accessed 20 October, 2021].
Chapter 2
Airport developments and projects can be classified as public goods, where the ‘operating costs cannot be fully recovered from all beneficiaries and must be wholly sponsored or partially subsidised by the state’ (see Brion, 1991: 37, cited in Aldrich, 2008: 3), though they differ from standard public goods in that they ‘involve “entrepreneurial politics” that confer general (though perhaps small) benefits as a cost to be borne chiefly by a small segment of society’ (Wilson, 1980: 370, cited in Aldrich, 2008: 3). Indeed, for this reason,
The World Bank, ‘GDP growth (annual %) – United Kingdom 1961–2020’, Available from: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=GB [Accessed 17 September, 2021].
House of Commons Procedure Committee, Evidence Sessions, 19 June, 2002, Available from: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmproced/823/2061901.htm [Accessed 24 May, 2021].
House of Commons Procedure Committee, Evidence Sessions, 19 June, 2002, Available from: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200102/cmselect/cmproced/823/2061901.htm [Accessed 24 May, 2021].
For further details, see SSE (2007) ‘Inuit leader to give evidence at Stansted public inquiry’, Press release, 21 July, Available from: https://stopstanstedexpansion.com/press-releases/inuit-leader-to-give-evidence-at-stansted-public-inquiry/ [Accessed 23 May, 2021].
Reprint of speech by Harold Wilson at the Labour Party Annual Conference, 1 October, 1963, Available from: http://nottspolitics.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Labours-Plan-for-science.pdf [Accessed 5 December, 2022].
Chapter 3
This term was used by to the chair of the Transport Committee to question Howard Davies on the outcomes of the Airports Commission when he gave evidence in January 2014 (Transport Committee, 2014).
For an overview of the career of Sir Howard Davies as reported for the Airports Commission, see 'Chair-Airports Commission', Available from https://www.gov.uk/government/people/howard-davies [Accessed 31 December, 2022].
Based on the list of Airport Commission meetings with stakeholders from September 2012 to July 2015. The list full of meetings can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/airports-commission-meetings-with-stakeholders [Accessed 21 October, 2021].
Chapter 4
For an overview of the criticisms of the Final Report made by the Local Authorities Aircraft Noise Council, see https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2015/07/laanc-local-authorities-aircraft-noise-council-to-consider-legal-action-against-biased-and-flawed-airports-commission-report/ [Accessed 20 October, 2021].
Wandsworth Council Press release, 20 August, 2015, Available from: www.wandsworth.gov.uk/news/article/12978/airports_commission_buried_doubts_over_heathrow_growth_forecast [Accessed 20 October, 2015].
For a full version of the letter, see www.wandsworth.gov.uk/news/article/12948/campaigners_take_heathrow_concerns_to_prime_minister [Accessed 20 October, 2015].
BBC News, 10 October 2015, Available from: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-34495393 [Accessed 9 March, 2017].
Howard Davies made a public statement on 19 August, 2015 to counter criticisms from Gatwick, see https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sir-howard-davies-statement. He also wrote a letter to the Secretary of State dismissing the criticisms made by Gatwick Airport of the work of the AC, see https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/463769/howard-davies-to-patrick-mcloughlin-070915.pdf [Accessed 21 December, 2021].
Interview on Today programme with George Osborne can be found at: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p034d84j [Accessed 6 October, 2015].
For a discussion of the roles of these institutions, see HCEB, ‘About us’, Available from: https://www.hceb.org.uk/who-we-are; ICCAN, ‘Our remit’, Available from: https://iccan.gov.uk/about-iccan/ [Accessed 21 December, 2021].
See Gatwick Airport Press release, 25 October, 2016, Available from: https://www.mediacentre.gatwickairport.com/press-releases/2016/16-10-25-gatwick-airport-responds-to-government-decision-on-airport-capacity.aspx [Accessed 14 November, 2021]; Davies, P. (2016) ‘Heathrow charges rule out more domestic links, says BA’, Travel Weekly, [online] 23 November, Available from: https://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/64075/heathrow-charges-rule-out-more-domestic-links-says-ba, [Accessed 14 November, 2016].
See AirportWatch (2016) ‘CAA writes to heathrow setting out its expectations, including preventing airline cost rises’, [online] 27 October, Available from: https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2016/10/caa-writes-to-heathrow-setting-out-its-expectations-including-preventing-airline-cost-rises/ [Accessed 14 November, 2021].
To review the letter from Andrew Tyrie to the Chancellor, see ‘Chair urges Chancellor to publish details on airport expansion’, 9 December 2016, Available from: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/158/treasury-committee/news/98600/chair-urges-chancellor-to-publish-details-on-airport-expansion/ [Accessed 20 October, 2021].
For an overview of the claims made by Teddington Action Group, see https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2016/10/teddington-action-group-commence-judicial-review-proceedings-against-government-re-heathrow-runway-decision/ [Accessed 4 August, 2022].
For the Reclaim the Power press release, see https://reclaimthepower.org.uk/news/press-release-protesters-blockade-mock-runway-outside-parliament-to-oppose-airport-expansion/ [Accessed 2 January, 2023].
Andrew Pendleton, FoE’s head of campaigns, see https://www.edie.net/news/11/Heathrow-airport-expansion-approved-by-UK-Government-/ [Accessed 19 November, 2021].
BBC News, 21 June, 2018, Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44561170 [Accessed 21 December, 2021].
To review the case of claimants and the final judgement, see [2017] EWHC 121 (Admin) Case No: CO/6287/2016, Available from: https://vlex.co.uk/vid/london-borough-of-hillingdon-793131273 [Accessed 2 January, 2023]; for press reports of the case, see The Daily Telegraph, 28 January, 2017, Available from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/28/heathrow-third-runway-unlawful-locals-made-life-choices-tory/ [Accessed 2 January, 2023].
For a discussion of the judgement and the intervention by Ravi Govindia, see https://news.sky.com/story/high-court-grounds-heathrow-third-runway-challenge-10748838 [Accessed 2 January, 2023].
Details of the case for judicial review can be found at: https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2018/08/lawyers-acting-for-a-consortium-of-local-authorities-and-others-have-issued-jr-proceedings-in-the-high-court-re-heathrow-runway/ [Accessed 2 January, 2023].
See Plan B’s 6 August 2018 Press release announcing its legal challenge at: https://planb.earth/plan-b-begins-legal-action-against-heathrow-expansion/ [Accessed 2 January, 2023].
To view the statement of the CCC, see https://www.theccc.org.uk/2016/10/25/uk-aviation-emissions-must-be-consistent-with-uk-climate-change-commitments-ccc-says/ [Accessed 11 January, 2022].
The letter from Lord Deben to Greg Clarke, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is available from: https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/CCC-letter-to-Rt-Hon-Greg-Clark-on-UK-airport-expansion-November-2016.pdf [Accessed 5 July, 2022].
The Planning Act (2008) can be found at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2008/29/contents [Accessed 2 January, 2023].
The full text of the letter can be found at: https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CCC-letter-to-DfT-on-Airports-National-Policy-Statement.pdf [Accessed 4 July, 2022].
Chris Grayling MP (2019) ‘Heathrow expansion: judgements from the High Court in the Judicial Review’, Written statement to Parliament, 1 May, Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/heathrow-expansion, [Accessed 5 December, 2021].
Press release, FoE, Available from: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate-change/heathrow-third-runway-uk-government-actions-ruled-illegal [Accessed 5 December, 2022].
Tim Shipman appeared on the BBC’s Politics Live on 27 February 2020. The details of the episode can be viewed at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000frqk [Accessed 6 April 2020].
Chapter 5
BBC News (2020) ‘Heathrow wins court battle to build third runway’, 16 December, Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55322340 [Accessed 21 November, 2021].
BBC News (2020) ‘Heathrow wins court battle to build third runway’, 16 December, Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55322340 [Accessed 21 November, 2021].
For a recording of the Any Questions programme, see https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000xn09, [Accessed 20 August, 2021].
For a press summary of the report, see https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/08/worlds-climate-scientists-to-issue-stark-warning-over-global-heating-threat [Accessed 17 December, 2021].
For further discussion of the IPCC report, see https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/aug/09/humans-have-caused-unprecedented-and-irreversible-change-to-climate-scientists-warn [Accessed 12 December, 2021].
To read Sarah Olney's letter to the Chancellor, see Liberal Democrat Voice (2020) 'Lib Dems leads cross-party call for urgent support for airlines in return for climate action', 27 April, Available from: https://www.libdemvoice.org/lib-dems-lead-crossparty-call-for-urgent-support-for-airlines-in-return-for-climate-action-64283.html [Accessed 2 May, 2021].
To review the policy statement of the Johnson government see GOV.UK (2021) ‘UK enshrines new target in law to slash emissions by 78 per cent by 2035’, Press release, 20 April, Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-enshrines-new-target-in-law-to-slash-emissions-by-78-by-2035 [Accessed 26 November, 2021].
To review the full declaration, see International Aviation Climate Ambition Coalition (2021), COP-26 Declaration, 10 November, Available from: https://ukcop26.org/cop-26-declaration-international-aviation-climate-ambition-coalition/ [Accessed 21 November, 2021].
Chapter 6
Figures based on Office for National Statistics (2020) ‘Travel trends: 2019’, 22 May, Available from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/leisureandtourism/articles/traveltrends/2019#uk-residents-visits-and-spend-abroad [Accessed 19 November, 2021].
These figures are based on departing flights for schemes at Leeds Bradford, Stansted and Southampton airports, while figures for Heathrow are based on both arriving and departing flights. See Chapman (2022).
For further information on the aims and policy proposals of A Free Ride, see https://afreeride.org/ [Accessed 20 December, 2021].
See BBC News, 28 October, 2021, Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59062696 [Accessed 12 November, 2021].
For further discussion of these subsidies to the aviation industry, see https://www.edie.net/news/11/UK-Government-unveils--4-3m-funding-for-domestic-flights--despite-green-backlash/; https://www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/government-pays-18m-ensure-round-22238956 [Accessed 21 November, 2021].
Conclusion
In exploring the different calculations and strategies through which politicians, states and public agencies decide to locate controversial infrastructure, Aldrich (2008: 54) concludes that it is the relative strength of civil society in a potential host community which is the key determining factor in their location. Naming such facilities ‘public bads’, because they appear to furnish some good for the community as a whole, but bring unfair burdens and strong negative externalities on the communities that host them, Aldrich argues that the state targets those sites which display weaker community and civil society networks, which also enable the use of ‘coercive methods such as land expropriation and police action’ (Cooley, 2009: 386).
In part, seen against this perspective, the UK case is something of an outlier, mainly because Heathrow was ‘chosen’ to be London’s main airport in 1944, just at the start of what might be termed a ‘golden age’ of infrastructure development in many capitalist democracies, when the extent of their social and environmental impacts was relatively unknown, and the political opposition emanating from civil society was negligible. Yet our research does confirm Aldrich’s argument that the strength of civil society is a crucial factor in the siting and expansion of large-scale facilities like airports and nuclear power stations, which is evident in the widespread opposition to the expansion of Heathrow and other airports in South East England, and indeed in Manchester. In this respect, the UK government was confronted with the problem of path dependency, and the reluctance of airlines, business and passengers to shift away from Heathrow, or even spread the load between different airports in the South East. The failure of the Boris Island option supports this proposition. Moreover, Aldrich’s claims are borne out further in the failed endeavour to develop a third London Airport in the 1960s and 1970s, which we discussed in relation to the Roskill Commission, when the latter decided upon Cublington and then after political resistance chose Maplin Sands instead, mainly because it was perceived to be more politically compliant.
To review the final judgement of Lord Justice Carnwath, see http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2010/626.html [Accessed 21 November, 2021].
For an overview of these local campaigns and their strategies, see https://axosouthampton.wordpress.com/ [Accessed 25 June, 2022]; https://www.stopbristolairportexpansion.org/ [Accessed 24 June, 2022]; https://www.galba.uk/ [Accessed 23 June, 2022].