Airports Capacity

Lord Soames of Fletching Excerpts

Monday 14th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr McLoughlin]

In fairness, the hon. Lady, who chairs the Transport Committee with distinction, was part of a Government that failed for many years to take a decision on where the extra capacity should be. Sir Howard says that it is very important that the new capacity is available by 2030. What I have talked about today will be within that timetable. We are just taking a little longer. If we had not done the work on air quality that we are embarking on, we might have slowed the process down, rather than sped it up.

[Sir Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

I remind my right hon. Friend, in all possible friendliness, that what the Labour party may or may not have done is completely irrelevant. It is of no interest to any of us and is unlikely to be so. Does he agree that this decision not to make a decision is truly lamentable? This is absolutely no way to run what he is pleased to call

“a world-class transport system to support a world-class economy.”

As the Davies commission reported absolutely clearly what its preferred decision was, without any prevarication, what exactly was the point of it?