I still suspect I may have fallen down a rabbit hole but apparently it's true. Two weeks after formally telling the world they're opposed to a third runway at Heathrow, the Tories have issued an extraordinary warning to companies. Don't get involved in any contracts to build the third runway, they're saying, because we're "absolutely determined" to stop the project going ahead. (Oh, and they're opposed to a second runway at Stansted too.)
Shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers said: "We will not consider ourselves bound by any decision taken by this government (on Heathrow)... People involved with contracts should be warned - we will stop a third runway going ahead... Anyone getting involved in any contract for a third runway should be very, very careful."
That was yesterday. Today, Labour looked even more isolated on Heathrow, as unions and organisations with a membership totalling five million placed this advert (pdf) in The Times, calling on the government to scrap Heathrow expansion plans.
Unison - the second biggest union in the UK - and the Campaign to Protect Rural England are among the 20-odd organisations who signed the letter, which read:
The economic case for building a third runway is unproven. With current plans in the region of £13 billion, money would be better spent on a low carbon and efficient high speed rail network linking the UK’s major cities with the rest of Europe.
As trade unions and member organisations representing millions of people, we believe this money should be invested in infrastructure like the rail network which would create jobs, generate business and help in the fight against climate change.
Whether it's reality or a rabbit hole, I think I'm starting to like it in here.
