Video by Casper Hughes / Words by Callum MacRae
Fifteen activists from the campaign group Rising Up! were arrested on Saturday (November 19th) whilst protesting the expansion of Heathrow airport. The activists, a number of whom chained themselves together using bike locks, lay down and obstructed a number of roads surrounding the airport. The arrests were made on grounds of obstruction of a highway and public order.
The protests were in response to the government’s extremely controversial decision last month to approve a third runway at Heathrow. The Transport secretary Chris Grayling hailed the decision as ‘truly momentous’ and the Department of Transport has claimed that the new runway would bring passengers and the wider community economic benefits of ‘up to £61 billion’.
The government has admitted that the village of Harmondsworth would be demolished, and protestors suspect that nearby Sipson would meet the same fate. The expansion would also severely hamper the government’s chances of achieving the targets laid out by the Climate Change Act. According to the Department of Transport’s forecasts, it is estimated that at full capacity the airport would emit 23.6 million tonnes of CO2 every year – rendering it the single biggest source of carbon dioxide in the UK, and equivalent to the combined total emissions of the world’s 54 least polluting countries. Air pollution in the capital is already in transgression of EU and UK law, and is responsible for an estimated 10000 deaths in the city each year – making it the UK’s second largest threat to public health.
The government’s decision, which will allow for hundreds of thousands more flights to and from Britain each year, has led to rife dissension within the Conservative party. With Boris Johnson denouncing the plans as ‘undeliverable’, and Zac Goldsmith’s resignation triggering the Richmond by-election. The by-election will be held next week, on December the first, and early polls suggest a strong chance of re-election for Goldsmith, who will stand as an independent candidate in firm opposition to the planned expansion.
Many Conservative voters have expressed dismay and anger at the decision, given David Cameron’s persistent promises to the nation that the third runway would not be allowed to go ahead. The Prime Minister herself has stood in opposition to the plans in the past, claiming in 2008 that the expansion would “undermine our national targets and seriously damage the health of the local community” and in 2009 that “local people will be devastated” by the proposals. May’s own constituency of Maidenhead would see a considerable increase in air traffic, and there is significant opposition to the move amongst her electorate.
Although the government’s announcement last month has brought the planned expansion much closer to actualisation, the proposals are still to pass through parliament, and final planning permission will not be granted until 2020 at the earliest. A diverse range of groups – from campaign organisations to local councils – are planning to challenge the proposals in court. Activists, heartened by the broad alliance of opposing parties, are planning many more actions in the months to come.
