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Senior Tory sinks Mayor's plan for Boris island airport
Katharine Barney15 May 2009
The Mayor of London's plan for a 'Boris Island' were dealt a blow today as the shadow transport secretary ruled out the idea.
Theresa Villiers said Boris Johnson's idea of building an airport in the Thames Estuary as an alternative to expansion at Heathrow was "not Conservative policy". She also said Mr Johnson was “independent” from the national party.
Mr Johnson wants to build up to six runways on an island in the estuary two miles off Sheerness in Kent. A feasibility study is currently being conducted by Doug Oakervee, chair of the Crossrail project.
But Mrs Villiers said: “It is not the Conservative policy to build an airport in the estuary. Boris is independent of the Conservatives on this issue.”
The split comes after Mr Johnson signalled that he might not stand as Mayor for a second term prompting speculation he still harboured dreams of becoming Prime Minister.
The Standard last month revealed that Mr Johnson might not stand for a second term as Mayor — and would be ready to serve as Prime Minister.
In an interview he said “nothing is excluded”, fuelling speculation that Mr Johnson will use City Hall as a springboard for an attempt to take Downing Street. The move triggered an electrifying rivalry with David Cameron at the top of the Conservative party, with the mayor openly defying the Tory leader by supporting the idea of an “earned amnesty” for illegal immigrants.
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The Mayor has also shown his ambition for power beyond City Hall by setting out plans for new academies and calling for Latin and Greek to be reintroduced in the national curriculum.
Local government expert Tony Travers said: “However hard they both say there is no power struggle it's very easy to infer there is. Boris is a very clever and ambitious man and it would be more surprising if he weren't after the job. I can't believe David Cameron will be entirely unaware of the threat
“On this issue Boris is keeping the London voters happy by talking about an airport out in Kent, but it's no so easy for the national party. This is about election politics.”
The Tories share the mayor's view that the Heathrow third runway but support alternative plans for a high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, with trains running at up to 190mph.
Mrs Villiers said: “We oppose a third runway at Heathrow. We want to make Heathrow better not bigger. [But] we are not looking at the option of a new airport in the Thames Estuary.”
The Mayor's office does not believe the rail link will be enough and insists there needs to be more aviation provision in the capital.
He is considering factors such as the London Array wind farm which is currently under construction as well as concerns about wildlife.
The Mayor's director of transport policy Kulveer Ranger said: “We accept it's not the policy of the national Tory party but Boris has to looks at what affects London and act in Londoners interests.
“He has said he will not support a third runway so there needs to be an alternative as well as high speed rail links and this is one alternative that is being considered.”
Reader views (7)
Good old Boris - what an idea.
Heathrow's two runways operating for something like 17 hours a day is unacceptable so why not build a new airport with more than 4 times that capacity somewhere else, somewhere away from you that doesn't matter.
Pretend that quadrupling the noise, pollution and congestion simply will not materialise. Fob off the locals with promises of new jobs and better infrastructure, hive off parts of the Estuary to foreign "investors" then sit back and wait for the plaudits from you influential voters of west London.
- Bill, Faversham, 07/10/2009 22:01
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Oh, how I laughed at this plan. The Arabs were idiot enough to build the Palm and the World Islands just 2m above sea level, so we can get them to pay for a quick airport for London that is 2m above sea level.
It appears neither Boris, nor any of the idiots in the Gulf have ever heard of Global Warming, Rising Sea Levels or the like.
No, wait, they are, of course, living in denial that the oil they sell is killing our planet. It is only fair that Boris relieve them of a few billion for a boondoogle in the Thames that will soon be underwater.
LAUGHING SO HARD IT HURTS
- David J Bailey, Bedford, UK, 07/10/2009 20:51
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It makes total sense to develop an airport in the Thames Estuary and release Heathrow for redevelopment and its long-suffering locals from the acoustic hell they've been living in. The airport will replace the Thames Estuary's departed industries and revitalise south Essex and northern Kent, which, as anyone knows whose been there, desperately need it. And if the Arabs want to fund it, so much the better for global relations.
- Lee Mallett, London, 07/10/2009 17:03
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The Standard may wish to investigate where Mr. Oakervee's report is, since it was originally meant to arrive at the end of March. Additionally, Boris didn't mention the estuary airport scheme during his speech on Saturday, merely referring to expanding airports 'on the periphery', which I took to mean Gatwick and/or Stansted.
- Tom, London, UK, 07/10/2009 16:03
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Give Boris what he wants or else....
He is the best mayor ever this side of the universe.
- Out With Brown, London, 07/10/2009 16:03
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the boris idea is clearly bonkers, no wonder the tories are distancing themselves from him, he is a ticking time bomb
- James, west glamorgan, 07/10/2009 16:03
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Boris Island is a silly idea that will require levels of funding that are just not feasible, in particular to build the travel networks to reach this proposed airport which is not exactly in an easily accessible place.
Whatever ill thought through promises regarding Heathrow expansion Theresa Villiers may have made to south west London, in a transparent attempt at gaining short term party political electoral advantage without thinking through the consequences properly, there is no real alternative to the expansion of capacity at our existing London airports and strong encouragment of more long haul services to use our regional airports instead of London. Anything else is aspirational nonsense that will not happen and for which there will never be the funding.
- Matt, London, UK, 07/10/2009 16:03
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