Statement from Cllr Fiona White on Heathrow vote

Commenting on the vote in the House of Commons last night on a third runway, Cllr Fiona White, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Surrey County Council, said today:"This is incredibly disappointing news and represents another broken promise to Surrey residents by this Conservative government.

"Liberal Democrats are opposed to further airport expansion in the south east of England. We recognise the importance of Heathrow, and indeed Gatwick, to the local economy but do not see how Surrey's infrastructure or environment would cope with the noise, increased air pollution and traffic congestion that expansion would bring.

"The economy of London and the south east is already overheated and these plans do nothing to spread economic opportunity across the whole of the United Kingdom.

"Surrey's Conservative MPs should have voted against this proposal in Parliament in last night. Many of them were elected in 2010 on a platform of opposing a third runway, so what has changed? Our residents deserve a much better standard of representation than this.

"However, the battle is not yet over. Liberal Democrat controlled councils, such as Richmond-upon-Thames and Kingston, are campaigning against a third runway and I am calling for Surrey County Council to take a stand and support other local authorities by campaigning against a third runway too."