COMMENT: Heathrow and Northolt problems

Boris Johnson, known for his anti-airport views both at Heathrow and London City, has been joined in the Heathrow and Northolt conurbation by John McDonnell, as Shadow Chancellor. 

Mr McDonnell is as far to the left as Mr Johnson is to the right but they share a common abhorrence to the expansion of Heathrow, the airport by far and away the largest employer in the area.  Some would say their views are misguided.

John McDonnell’s constituency includes the whole of Heathrow, whilst Boris Johnson has RAF Northolt in the centre of his expanse, that airport long promoted by this publication as a short-term remedy for the UK regions Heathrow access problems.

Admirers say McDonnell, 64, is a serious thinker, but his years of political isolation on the far left fringe of New Labour have seen him adopt some of the traits of what became known in the 1980s as the “loony left”.  Ahead of the General Election he talked about lynching Tory MPs and removing “the stain of inhumanity”.  In 2010, he said he would like to go back to the 1980s and assassinate Thatcher.

He and Johnson on the same platform haranguing for the closure of the area’s life support system should make for interesting reporting.  Their real problem is they are toothless.  After April Boris Johnson is a backbencher with aspirations for the Cabinet.  John McDonnell is a Shadow Minister, equally impotent.  But will they join forces?  Only time will tell.

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All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum

Ian Hamer, UK/ Cardiff

Short term thinking on London runway capacity by politicians who cannot prioritise the National interest over their narrow constituency interest in getting elected have prevented expansion for the last 15 years. This will continue until these narrow political interests are removed from the decision making process.