Essay CIT-4 - 'Explain and assess the way in which local government has reacted to a campaign known to you.'
Written by Jamie Howell.
Introduction
On the 13th December 2003, the government published legislation on a direction for change that would affect the future welfare of the local villages surrounding Heathrow International Airport. A “White Paper” was issued and implemented into the statute book: stating the government’s intentions on eradicating the local areas and five villages in attempts of building a third runway for the continually growing expansion of Heathrow Airport. It was the final stage of a proposed law that was voted on by MP’s in the House of Commons. This bill brought the local areas and its citizens into controversy and into disarray and protest. Amidst to the scandalous events, No Third Runway Action Group (NOTRAG) was introduced by Geraldine Nicholson: who now holds the chair to the organisation on a journey to remove plans of a third runway and restore the local villages and London Borough of Hillingdon back to normality. They were quick to become the spearheads in the mission to stop the third runway and have received mixed, and very controversial response from local and national government.
Before delving into this essay, it is essential to establish what a local government is and what it consists of, so that I can afterwards see how it has reacted to NOTRAG and its actions, seeing as then I will have enough knowledge and insight to do this.
A local government is a level of the governing body of the UK that is responsible for the day to day running of a local constituency. They have many responsibilities in looking after their area and providing welfare for those who live within it. Local government provides transport, health and economic development to the small-bound areas. In carrying out the above duties, local councils must consult with the citizens in a number of ways set out by the DETR (Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions) in matters of focus groups; citizen’s panels; and opinion polling. Examples of local government include the Greater London Assembly and local boroughs, which also have a responsibility to include the views of councillors and the local public into their referendum on law and also endorse the localities with education, housing, social services and roads.
Now that I have gained a basic understanding of the motives and traditions of local government, I can now investigate into them to explain and access how they have separately responded to the epidemic and recent actions of NOTRAG.
It could be assumed that local government have reacted in a much more optimistic way to the campaign against the building of a third runway, than national government; who introduction legislation on the happenings of this local syndication that could prove to be an annihilation of local residents.
When the white paper was issued in 2003, the future welfare of the areas surrounding Heathrow Airport was doomed. The villages of Cranford, Harlington, Harmondsworth and Longford would be put into jeopardy and Sipson village would be wiped off the map. A Third Runway would demolish 800 homes; Heathrow Primary School; place William Byrd Primary School in the Public Safety Zone; leave five other schools within 600 metres of a new runway and place dozens of schools under its flight path. A new runway would result in 10,000 people living within metres of a new runway; expose 150,000 more people to aircraft noise and demolish a further 400 homes for associated road schemes.
The welfare of areas further away from the airport was also placed into adversity. Two million people in West London could be affected by aircraft noise; 212,000+ Hounslow residents would be under a flight-path including 30,000 children from schools. Many people would be exposed to unacceptable levels of nitrogen dioxide; 700 homes would be lost to make way for a Third Runway and many new areas would suffer at the worsening of noise including Osterley, Northern Brentford and the Northern parts of Chiswick
In response to the white paper and possibility of this extreme policy taking place, many forms of local government were quick to pledge their support to NOTRAG and show themselves against the building of a third runway.
London Borough of Hillingdon
The London Borough of Hillingdon pledged their support to the campaign devised by local residents, by funding for their activities and demonstrations. With the help of the London Borough, NOTRAG were able to create their own website so that their pleas could be seen on a wide scale by a large audience including Local, National and European governments. The borough of Hillingdon; whom are incorporated into the views of local governments, were able to devise a large part of their website to the campaign and draw up pages where people can pledge their support to NOTRAG and help towards achieving a future area of normality.
They met in 2003 at the Civic Centre, Uxbridge in the Council Chamber to discuss local issues, including the government’s policy on supporting a Third Runway and the rise of NOTRAG. A motion was held from Rod Marshall on the campaign and he proposed that the London Borough of Hillingdon appoint Public Relations Consultants to help pledge their continual support. The motion was agreed by the councillors and passed.
The borough also challenged the government’s proposals for airport expansion and took their case to the High Court. Unfortunately they lost.
Although they do not relate directly to government, the council are a key part of a constituency of a local government, whose views must always be incorporated. The support that NOTRAG got at the beginning of its first year is representative of its recognition as an extremely important campaign and gives an indication that local government are likely to comply with the local borough and its councillors and also support it.
Greater London Assembly (GLA)
They did when the Greater London Assembly and its mayor Ken Livingstone supported NOTRAG’s policy. Chair of NOTRAG Geraldine Nicholson and other NOTRAG representatives were frequently invited to Assembly meetings. An example of this is when on the 7th September 2005, NOTRAG were invited by the GLA to the Consultation on Draft Interim Master Plan for Heathrow Airport. The GLA appear to be extremely behind the campaign of the Hillingdon residents and have gone out of their way to make this evident. The Assembly invited NOTRAG and its head members including Geraldine Nicholson, vice chair Christine Taylor and local MPs to many other meetings regarding matters affecting London. This is a good example of the positive reaction the campaign has got from local governments and shows its immense power as a pressure group, who are receiving strong support from important members of society and the region in which the Third Runway will be built.
In February 2006, the GLA provided additional support to NOTRAG when the Mayor published his 59th report to the Assembly in compliance with Section 45 of the Greater London Authority Act of 1999 and in response to a previous meeting with NOTRAG and HACAN Clear Skies. The Mayor promised that he would provide the campaign with £15,000 and in April 2006, he delivered his promise, but added an extra £65,000 to help NOTRAG research into the damage to health caused by airport noise and air pollution; the problem of airport noise across London as flight paths change and an economic analysis challenging the justification for a new runway at Heathrow Airport. This once again reinstates the idea that NOTRAG have money at their disposal to prove a dangerous force against the national government and also further endorses the idea of the GLA’s continual support for the No Third Runway Action Group and the mass support from local governments.
Local MPs
Local MPs are also united in the fight against the building of the Third Runway. The members of Parliament for the Hillingdon Borough including John Randall (Conservative MP for the Uxbridge constituency), Nick Hurd (Conservative MP for Ruislip and Northwood) and John McDonnell (Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington) have pledged their support to NOTRAG and have even become members of their campaign. Local MPs have obviously supported NOTRAG to an immeasurable degree and helped towards the campaign being the core group in dissolving the Third Runway plans of Heathrow Airport. The feeling arises that local government has been a key contributor in installing NOTRAG as an important organisation and keeping them up and running amidst the growing pressures from national government.
They have shown continual support since 2003: when the plans were made legislation.
John McDonnell is head of the constituency that will literally be obliterated by the Third Runway. He over the years has proved to be one of the most loyal and vital supporters of NOTRAG. His opinions on governments bill is in fact most negative and he has been found to have said: “This is a savage abuse of the human rights of my constituents. I am not willing to stand by and see our community destroyed.”
O’Donnell has stuck by his emotive words and has attended the majority of NOTRAG’s meetings and demonstrations including the campaign at Hayes Town carnival in 2003; the European Day of Action in June 2006 and NOTRAG’s AGM (Action Group Meeting) at Heathrow Primary school.
From discovering this, I have not only seen the strong anti-third runway beliefs of local government; but their dedication and extremely undeniable loyalty to the campaign.
The other two local MPs in the Borough of Hillingdon have also shown support similar to O’Donnell’s.
John Randall has said “Make no mistake; we must fight this expansion all the way. I urge everyone to unite to make sure that a third runway and a sixth terminal never become a reality.”
MP for Ruislip and Northwood Nick Hurd has also said: “The proposed expansion of Heathrow may be in the interests of BAA shareholders, but it is not in the interests of Hillingdon residents.” Each of the three MPs within the Hillingdon borough have shown their support in terms of being controversial against larger government, as seen above, but have also proved effective and a source of good support in other ways. They have complied with the motives of NOTRAG and have been vital proprietors in keeping NOTRAG at the top of the campaigners against the Third Runway and sustaining the loyalty and support of local residents.
When the white paper was passed on the dissolution of the Third Runway, the local MPs helped NOTRAG devise a petition on their website www.notrag.org . A petition is usually signed before a mass demonstration, and is then given to the main person who demonstration is focused at or someone from the point of demonstration. Many people present petitions to Downing Street. NOTRAG and the local MPs did this in their petition and formed a demonstration to London and had their petition sent to the Prime Minister. It is remarkable to see that local government and MPs have gone against their own governing class to fight for what they believe in and protect the future welfare of Sipson, Harlington and the surrounding areas and the future welfare of NOTRAG which could be expulsed.
The support continued into 2005, when the government looked to end runway alteration at Heathrow, by reducing the amount of peace and quiet that local citizens get from the countries. Although it proved a small comfort in the sense that the fight against the building of the Third Runway may result in victory for local MPs and NOTRAG, the campaigners were humbled by being made aware actually how much affect national government is having on the way they live their everyday lives. They can make things worse for them; remove things and decide what happens. If the government could introduce the Runway Alteration, they could easily introduce the Third Runway. Therefore, NOTRAG had to worry and local MPs had to step in and offer their support to the campaigners in hope that the national government doesn’t implement other burdens on the society i.e. the Third Runway.
Local governments continued to once again show their on-going support and prove vital in securing the welfare of the campaign and maintain the monopolized control of the National government, which would see the Third Runway introduced by 2010.
They continued to show their support and dedication to protecting their constituencies and the people which live within them, when on the European Day of Action; which was attended by NOTRAG and as mentioned earlier John McDonnell of Hayes and Harlington; they were supposed to have said: “Come and show the government that would wont take this lying down”. This coincides with ideas on the local government going against national powers to protect NOTRAG and the citizens within their dominions.
Local government also joined the torchlight vigil of the 30th October 2006: where local residents marched the areas where the runway would be built on, holding torches in the nighttime and demonstrated their continual support to the motives of NOTRAG when in December 2006, the government announced its ongoing commitment to a third runway at Heathrow and conscripted plans of a 6th terminal and changes to the roads system. The local MPs John McDonnell, John Randall and Nick Hurd continued on their previous incentives of speaking out in the House of Commons and once again pledged their support to the NOTRAG campaign by contributing to press release of the Hillingdon Times.
In conclusion it is evident that local government has responded positively to the NOTRAG campaign and have contributed immensely to the successes of this important pressure group. They have stood up for the welfare of their citizens and those who will be affected, protecting the Human Rights and the HRA of 1998.
They have fulfilled their roles as professional members of local government who are expected to look out and provide for the local citizens. They appear almost certain to continue their support into the next few years; when the future predicament of the areas surrounding Heathrow Airport and the possible installation of the Third Runway will be decided; and potentially built.