The case of Heathrow PDF Print E-mail

15 January 2009

John McDonnell was angry long before Geoff Hoon officially gave the third runway the go-ahead. In December 2007, for example, he was on his feet in Parliament over the sham public consultation on Heathrow expansion. He explained how documents released under the freedom of information act showed that it "was drafted and virtually dictated by BAA, with the evidence modeled by BAA".

While clearly opposed to the government's plans for Heathrow, his protest yesterday was about the decision to deny Parliament a vote on the matter. Susan Kramer MP called it "cowardly". McDonnell shouted as he rose from his seat: "it is a disgrace to the democracy of this country."

The expansion of Heathrow has become something of a case study in influence in politics - who wields it and how. As well as the collusion between the industry and the Department for Transport over the consultation, FoI documents also show the huge disparity in access to Government between aviation interests and those expressing concerns. The industry's intricate lobbying network is also known, including actors such Tom Kelly, the former No.10 spin doctor who moved to BAA in 2007.

Below is a chart of some of these actors (or download a PDF of the diagram: Easy Access: Aviation industry lobbying and its links to Government).

The case of Heathrow appeared in the recent Parliamentary report on lobbying by the Public Administration Select Committee. After an 18 month inquiry - during which the committee of MPs heard evidence from among others Greenpeace and BAA's Tom Kelly - they concluded that lobbying needs be opened up to public scrutiny. Do nothing, the report warns, and public mistrust of Government will increase, fueled by the perception that Government listens to - and is influenced by - favoured groups like big business more than the British public. It says:

"There has also been widespread public concern that some areas of government policy have effectively been captured at an early stage by interest groups, usually within industry, and that public consultations have been unbalanced in the favour of these interests. Two prominent recent cases have concerned nuclear power and Heathrow airport."

The report recommends a compulsory register as a way of revealing to the public, journalists and MPs who is lobbying whom: lobbyists name, employer or clients, even career history (did that person just move from the DfT for example) would then all be public knowledge. It would also detail meetings between lobbyists and Ministers and officials. This, the committee says will "enable the public to... reach a reasonably informed judgement as to whether decision makers are receiving a balanced perspective from those they are meeting." The register would have allowed the public to find out how deep the collusion has been.

"The Government's announcement is not the end of the battle against the third runway," McDonnell said, "it is just the beginning." By conducting its business without the public - and out of sight of the public - the Government is inviting trouble.

Aviation industry lobbying links to government
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