August 3: Pie in the sky
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THERE is
almost universal opposition to Boris Johnson’s idea for an
off-shore airport in the Thames somewhere off the north Kent
coast.
And seemingly little likelihood
of it ever getting off the ground. So why does he keep on promoting
the idea?
Don't
write off my aiport plan, says Boris>>>
I’ve been trying to fathom the
reasons myself. One of the key sentences that struck me in his
latest effort to give the scheme a boost was his entreaty: "We
cannot go on like this – it is time for vision."
Boris, like a lot of ambitious
politicians, is keen on the vision thing. It affords them the
chance to indulge and dream and to escape the drudgery of everyday
political activity, the endless committees, meetings and general
bureaucracy.
And in some ways, there’s
nothing wrong with that. I’m rather keen on politicians coming up
with off-the-wall (or in this case ‘pie in the sky’) propositions -
although please spare me any more "iconic" vanity
projects.
Vainglorious politicians keep
journalists interested and whatever else they might say, most
politicians prefer to be talked about rather than
ignored.
(Let’s not forget the London
Mayoral election coming up in 2012, when the popularity of the
coalition government will probably be at a low point. Boris will,
if he stands again, be keen on keeping his distance from an
unpopular government. A few sideswipes at the Conservatives won’t
necessarily go amiss).
Boris Island may, to some, be a
grandiose folly, a fantastically improbable scheme.
It might be ludicrously costly
and technically flawed. It could be environmentally ruinous. On the
other hand, it could transform the economy of a part of Kent and
the wider region and bring in astronomic investment and jobs. The
point is, Boris doesn’t know; I don’t know and I’m not really sure
anyone else does.
So maybe he has a point in
arguing that before we discount it altogether, it would be right to
at least weigh up dispassionately the pros and cons.
There may be better
alternatives. (And to be fair to Kent county council, it has at
least been suggesting other ways of addressing the
problem).
There may be insurmountable
obstacles that render Boris Island a non-starter.
But there is part of me that
thinks we need a more neutral, independent assessment of what
the case for and against Boris Island actually is.
Tuesday, August 03 2010
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