Another day, and another article, in the editorial leader in the Times making clear the government is looking very favourably at an Estuary Airport proposal in the Thames Estuary.
It seems the ceaseless drip drip of national press coverage coming from leaks in government and the London Conservative spin machine is nothing short of managed. Pravda would be proud at the manner in which the public expectation is being managed by the Tory government; slowly but surely changing the goal posts and the psyche of the public.
This blog has been clear; it has never, and shall never, support an airport on the Thames Estuary.
The idea would destroy and uproot communities, undermine years of planned regeneration, cause ten to fifteen years of transport and roadwork chaos (as if we dont have enough), and lead to the re-definition of Medway as a place. Our civic fabric would be for ever be altered.
Whilst this above point is agreed across all political groups, the manner in which we have ended at this point has not.
The simple fact is that the Medway Conservatives are exposed as never before. Exposed by government policy changing and the goal posts moving. Exposed by the mutterings that Kent County Council can be bought off and that Cllr Chambers was none too pleased about being foisted onto a regional LEP forum. Exposed by our MPs running for the hills after the u-turn in November. It is clear that whilst they dithered others moved on... the moving slide from island to on-site.
This blog has been vitriolic in its opinion that Conservatives are being two-faced on this issue.
This is reality not fiction; the London Conservative Party and many in government, including Stephen Hilton and George Osborne, are continuing and actively pursuing this policy; meanwhile local Tories are running lack-lustre campaigns, in their own words 'verbal grenades' to try and 'contain' the threat.
The local Tories have finally accepted that verbal 'grenades' from Chambers and Jarrett have, not unsurprisingly given no one knows who they are beyond our Authority borders (believe me), had any impact in Whitehall. It is, and always was, simply naive to think that non-entities from a Local Authority in Kent can compete with the weight of the elected offices in London, and thus in November it reached a crunch point - on the movement of Philip Hammond MP.
Now a cynic would not suggest that putting an anti-Heathrow expansion campaigner as Transport Secretary was planned; the Kremlinology of this could twist the logic in most people. However, what we all know is George Osborne, after sustained lobbying from the London anti-heathrow campaign, the public near Heathrow airport (who were mobilised) and Justine herself the idea of expansion was ruled out of the aviation paper.
The point of note; the Thames Estuary was categorically not ruled out, despite that being the line-in-the-sand for local MPs set by the opposition and public
And yes, our MPs cant absolve themselves; they were happy to take the credit for challenging Cameron, and spinning letters to the press, but when the proverbial 'brown' hit the fan in November they ran for the hills. They have consistently failed to grasp the nettle and have accepted on face-value bland utterances from the Tory leadership; I believe they are also ignored in Whitehall as being either extreme or naive. I am angry at their failure... too right given the warnings and the known history of government undermining local MPs on this issue...
I was attacked last night by Tory Councillors not because I was wrong but because I challenged them with fact and set out their failures which are documented on this blog over time; and the simple fact is they have misjudged the politics. I was accused of being a 'silly child' and of being young (coincidentally both Tracey and Rehman are of the same generation), accused of grinning at the plight of residents and callously playing a partisan hand. I was staggered and bemused by the utter level of contempt from politicians who have braved local politics for decades; who are happy to have elections on Police Commissioners and on the EU during the Eurozone crisis, but not on something which poses an existential threat to our towns.
Simple truth; it sometimes takes someone who has not been blinkered by years of Council bureaucracy and compromise to see the wood from the trees. A fresh set of eyes not inwardly facing but outwardly looking; I am not an 'insider' run tired by years of officer-driven compromise, and I am proud of that. It seems a few too many of those exist; apologizing for a lack of ambition not pushing for the possible.
So it came to our amendment for a referendum last night which was rejected by the Conservatives.
Labour proposed the referendum with the full knowledge that on the latest Council poll that the majority nationally oppose the idea. Given the fact the local population will be most impacted and against, we felt a public vote would give a massive mandate and democratic punch to the no campaign and challenge the government and the Mayor of London head on. Not taking into account the potential impacts on the Peninsula in the future and the current ongoing impacts of dithering (house prices, business investment) we thought it necessary to give people a voice and stop this once and for all.
The referendum was to happen, but the question itself, and this is important, was to be referred to a cross-party forum for consideration. That is important because Tories still objected to giving the people a forum to oppose, despite the fact they could help write the question. Interventions from my colleagues making rational cases for its inclusion with their input were rejected as mischief.
Ruling out a future referendum was a mistake. The Conservatives rejected allowing the people a say; rejected the idea of Parish referendums and whilst accepting that 'pie-in-the-sky' had not worked refused to acknowledge the public any stake in deciding on the future for our towns.
Despite the amendment being rejected I did vote to support the establishment of the anti-airport cabinet group; my parting message was that this can not just be a forum for endless dithering and delay; and that a full blown lamp post poster campaign be set up as soon as possible to galvanize opposition.
In reality the public wont grasp, or care, who is sitting on what sub-cabinet group, but it will be important to see whether the Tories water-down proposals for campaign activity on this body. Watch this space.
I hope that in the future that the Parishes can take our idea and run with it; I will be suggesting to them they pursue localised versions of it. Despite the groans from two in the audience there is a worrying lack of understanding about the proposal; let me clear, this is to give a democratic mandate and add weight, and recognition to the anti-airport campaign. A vote would confer weight in London and the corridors of Westminster.
My closing statements were clear; the Tories rejected the idea of giving the public a say, they have mismanaged and underplayed the threat and have been caught exposed, our MPs have been woeful in Westminster and it is clear that ongoing dithering, will only lead to the public perception that one lot of Tories are saying one thing and other lot in Medway another. This is the history; the future is for them to finally grasp this issue and fight for our residents tooth and nail; I suspect and fear the weak leadership they have already shown will continue.
I hope this cross-party cabinet works but the proof is not a pie-in-the-sky but on a lamp post near you.
Will they step up; I really hope so for all those living in Medway
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