Originally Posted by kanderson1965

Whilst not defending politicians here, being interested in political gains means the same as trying to get re-elected which in turn means appealing to the electorate. If there was a huge swathe of the electorate demanding Heathrow expansion, we would see a very different view from the government. Much as I would like to see airport expansion, I accept it is not vey high on most people's list of priorities. Busnesses are pushing for it because of their own self interest but for the majority the economic argument is not that appealing.
In addition, the environmental lobby have played a bit of a blinder over the last fourty or so years by getting their message over to the young from an early age. We are now at the point where it is difficult to persuade younger people to support these projects without them raising environmental concerns.