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Everyone's angry about... runways

Isabelle Aron
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Isabelle Aron
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We unpick the issues that have got Londoners all riled up. This week, it's the ongoing debate about a third runway at Heathrow.

So, what’s the story?

After months of um-ing and ah-ing about whether to build a third runway at Heathrow, Prime Minister David Cameron has finally decided that, er, he needs more time to decide. Despite promising a final answer by the end of the year, he’s pushed back the decision until summer 2016, pissing off pretty much everyone else in the process.

Why does everyone care so much?

The government says the delay is because of environmental concerns, but some people think that pushing the decision to take place after the London mayoral election is a political ploy to prevent embarrassment for Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith, who is against the plans. Meanwhile, environmental groups are unhappy that the government is still considering it at all. And everyone else is just bored of talking about it – there have been discussions about a third runway at Heathrow for the last 15 years. Change the record, guys.

Is anyone happy about the decision?

Just one person – you’ve probably heard of him. Christmas has come early for London Mayor Boris Johnson, who is strongly against building a third runway at Heathrow and instead wants to build an airport in the Thames Estuary – a proposal that’s been dubbed ‘Boris Island’. He believes that ‘the wheels have fallen off the Heathrow fuselage’, and adds that ‘due to the environmental impacts, the legal obstacles and the cost to the public purse, this bird will never fly’. Not smug at all, then. 

In other news, the Cereal Killer Café was the most talked-about 'restaurant' on Twitter this year

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