20 April 2010
The Green Party in Essex has welcomed the decision by Labour in its manifesto to drop its support for a second runway at Stansted Airport - at least for the duration of the new parliament.
Essex Green Party has consistently opposed expansion at Stansted beyond 25 million passengers per year.
The retreat by Labour puts the prospect of another runway at Stansted even further over the horizon. The Government recently ruled that the BAA planning application was becoming out of date. And the BAA are still unable to get their application to the much postponed public inquiry because of the fall out from the Competition Commission's ruling on the sale of the airport.
The lack of support from Labour now adds to the outright opposition to a second runway from the Greens, Tories and Lib Dems, making it politically implausable in the medium term.
James Abbott, Essex Green Party Co-ordinator, Green candidate for Witham constituency and campaigner against a second runway at Stansted for over 25 years said
"Labour has caved in to the inevitable. The pressure against a second runway was becoming intolerable for them. They were having enormous difficulty in trying to explain how such an environmentally destructive and climate ruinous proposal squared with their claims on green issues and combating climate change.
This is a belated, but good decision for local communities and the environment. The final step now must be for the BAA to withdraw the planning application and lift the blight on this area and its residents."
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