THE VIEW FROM WESTMINSTER
BREXIT AND THE IMPACT ON AIRPORT
EXPANSION
The view from Westminster is slightly chaotic! The
referendum result was not one that most of us
were expecting and three of our six major political
parties are in the midst of a leadership challenge.
The world in Westminster is spinning at a million
miles an hour and I, for one, am acutely aware
that the outside world just wants everything to
calm down and for some sort of plan to emerge
for our post-Brexit future.
James Heappey
Member of Parliament - Wells Constituency
Chair - All Party Parliamentary Group for Events
I concluded that we should remain in the EU and
was disappointed with the referendum result.
However, I am also clear that Parliament cannot
turn its back on the democratically expressed will
of the people. No matter how poor the debate
beforehand, and no matter how much some who
voted to leave might now regret it; the result is
clear and we must now enact it.
What Brexit looks like will be the burning question
for so many in the events industry and yet the
reality is that we haven’t got a clue. My colleague
Oliver Letwin is now leading a team in the Cabinet
Office to develop our negotiation strategy but
uncertainty in the short term is unavoidable. He
is expected to report back to Parliament in the
autumn.
In the meantime, the Conservative leadership
election has further delayed a decision on airport
expansion. I am hugely disappointed that this
is the case. Some will favour Gatwick or a new
airport altogether; I think Heathrow is the only
show in town and we should just get on with
it. The UK is losing ground to our European
neighbours at exactly the time when we need to
be racing out in front to mitigate the inevitable
impacts of Brexit.
If our strategy post Brexit is to trade not just with
Europe but increasingly with the world beyond
and we need airports with the capacity to connect
with those new markets.
06