Inside Croydon

This morning’s Court of Appeal ruling that a third runway at Heathrow is unlawful could put Croydon’s council leader Tony Newman’s bollocks in a vice.

A new runway for Gatwick may cost more jobs than it provides

For not only has the ruling managed to coalesce opposition, legally and environmentally, against airport expansion, but it may yet see Gatwick push the case for their second runway.

And that is something which Newman – now claiming personal credit for his council’s declaration of a climate emergency – has always supported with conspicuous enthusiasm.

The contradictions in Newman’s positions may be obvious to most, but they remain unapparent to the Labour leader at the Town Hall.

This is possibly because Gatwick continues to be a generous sponsor of some activities in Croydon, apparently also because a second runway would generate some jobs for south London residents (though the economic case for this has never been laid out by Newman), and probably also because before Sarah Jones became MP for Croydon Central, she worked for Gatwick Airport for several years.

Yet Newman’s untenable position over airport expansion has become even more so, as his Labour Party colleagues today came out strongly in support of the Heathrow ruling. Continue reading →