Heathrow Expansion Just Got Easier

A third runway at Heathrow is back on the cards, after MPs voted for a new unelected and unaccountable quango to push through the expansion plans and New Labour's other pet projects. 

MPs finally had a chance yesterday to vote on whether they wanted to replace accountable public inquiries, with an unelected Planning Commission. 

In the end, just 17 True Labour MPs had the courage and sense to vote against the Bill - they at least can hold their heads up high. 

The Planning Bill had been delayed twice and was rewritten with a few concessions to try to push it through. 

The result was a watered down Bill making the new Planning Commission just a bit more accountable. 

But the idea still is to scrap lengthy and accountable public enquires for massive building projects ranging from nuclear power stations, wind farms and incinerators, airports, new towns, roads and reservoirs. In fact anything that could be unpopular. 

Even with the concessions, the new Commission is just a smoke-screen to fast-track the developments and by-pass the planning process in quangoland.

Brown faced a parliamentary revolt, with this new Planning Commission coming under fire from MPs outraged at yet another hugely expensive, unaccountable and unelected bureaucratic quango.

The back-bench revolt from his own party was stronger than ever and even the cabinet was split on the issue. 

But in the end, the wheeling and dealing over concessions saved Brown's skin, again.

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Cabinet Split Over Planning Quango

Buried deep in Blears' missing laptop and buried in a BBC report on the alleged theft, was a file giving just a small glimmer of hope to the growing campaign against the ridiculous expansion of Heathrow airport and Brown's 'eco-towns' con. 

According to the BBC, the laptop files, "also contained information that shows cabinet members disagree over the government's proposed planning laws."

Those 'proposed planning laws' are New Labour's cunning plan to by-pass the planning process with a new expensive, unelected and unaccountable planning quango.

This latest bureaucratic quango would be stuffed with New Labour cronies on fat salaries whose brief is to fast-track and nod-through pet projects. 

The proposed new planning law was due to be discussed by MPs in parliament only last week but with the increasing chance of a defeat for Brown, it was quietly shelved for the time being. 

Faced with stiff opposition from Conservatives, LibDems and back-bench Labour MPs, this didn't stand a change of getting through parliament. With the reported cabinet split on the issue, it now looks as if Brown couldn't even carry some of the New Labour faithful.

Heathrow expansion, has been exposed as just a money-making wheeze for big business, a disaster for the people who have to live nearby and it doesn't stand a chance of getting past tough new EU air quality rules. 

'Eco-towns', one of Brown's Big Ideas, have been exposed as a sham, a sneaky way of just building thousands of new houses in rural areas and  branded as 'eco-towns' as part of the spin. In the face of a huge and growing backlash, a short list of 57 was whittled down to 15, then 10.

One of the key proposals of the new planning laws is replacing accountable public inquiries with an unelected planning commission. 

This would cover massive building projects ranging from nuclear power stations, wind farms and incinerators, airports, new towns, roads and reservoirs. In fact anything that's unpopular.

But without a fast-track to ignore the planning process, these schemes could be on the back-burner for a while.

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