"Stewardess? Just pour my breakfast straight in, there's a girl..."
It would be fair to say that these are tough times for the UK. Finding a pound coin down the back of the sofa represents an economic stimulus for millions of households while Government departments are slashing their budgets all over the place.
So, we at Boriswatch HQ were surprised to read this week in the Yorkshire Post that the Government may have a spare £50 billion knocking about to back Boris’ ‘estuary airport’ idea.
The Government are to hold a formal consultation on the future of UK aviation which will consider several proposals including the one put forward by the Mayor to build a four runway airport on reclaimed land in Kent.
Bozza said: “I think that where we are is that the Government is increasingly interested in this idea.
“I genuinely believe that they see not just the overwhelming aviation argument and the argument from international competitiveness in making sure Britain has a hub airport that is viable for the long-term future.â€
However, as you might imagine there’s a fair bit of opposition to the scheme from all sides. Environmentalists, the Labour Party and the unions have all opposed the plan, as does Colin Matthews, chief executive of airports operator BAA (no vested interest there, of course. Ahem.) Matthews said an island hub was “very expensive†and “decades away,†adding it would almost certainly cause the closure of Heathrow, with the loss of 100,000 jobs.
Will Boris get his way? Who knows. A new airport is a long way off – and there’s the small matter of raising the £50 billion, of course. Perhaps the Department of Transport could look down the back of it’s office sofa…?