Lynne Featherstone

Liberal Democrats secured cross-party support for their stand against the expansion of Heathrow airport last night.

Liberal Democrats however have urged Labour councillors to do more than simply back the council motion, but actually to lobby the Labour ministers who will be making this decision.

Labour councillors agreed to break ranks with their national party and join other Liberal Democrat councils, such as Islington and Camden, in the 2M Campaign against the expansion of Heathrow airport.

Councillor Butcher, Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson commented:

"Enough is enough. We cannot stand back and ignore the damage to the environment that will be caused by Heathrow's expansion. We will never move to a carbon free economy if we allow airports to grow and grow.I am pleased that Labour councillors supported our motion, but now they have to do the hard bit and persuade their ministers to actually see sense.

"Local residents living under Heathrow's flight path will bear the brunt of more flights and more pollution.As a local council we have to send a clear message that we don't want a bigger airport."

Councillor Martin Newton, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson, added:

"We must call a halt to any expansion of Heathrow - either through additional runways or by allowing more frequent landings on existing runways. 100,000 domestic and short haul flights could be slashed if high speed rail was introduced. As seen from examples across Europe, passengers would switch en masse from air to rail if journey times were improved through introduction of high-speed rail.

"High-speed rail may be expensive - but the planet can't afford us not to provide an alternative to unnecessary air travel."