Question

Sir Alan Haselhurst MP, Stansted Airport is a gateway to international trading centres for east of England businesses and a major business in its own right providing many trading opportunities for local firms. Economic growth is vital to maintaining the UK as a premier world financial centre and to the competitiveness of the east of England with 80 per cent of the top 500 companies having offices located in the airport’s catchment area. Is Stansted Airport and its expansion critical to the region’s economic development?
Asked by MTyrrell on Oct 30 2007 10:58:16 PM and supported by 22 members MORE!

Answer

Well part of that question is answered by what I’ve just said. I don’t believe that business is the principle beneficiary of Stansted. Obviously Stansted is an economic driver because it has created 10,000 or more jobs. I don’t deny that and we are in the fortunate position that we don’t have unemployment in my constituency nor in the immediate area around. When Stansted has passed a certain level of activity, people are having to be brought in from further and further a field adding to burden of inadequate road and rail network and causing more people to say well now I’m working here can I buy somewhere to live nearer and these are creating pressures which are not being relieved by investment in the local infrastructure. This is a real problem. But yes the economic growth to which the airport has contributed, as some of the service industries, such as hotels and so on, all of that fine its created work for local people but the more it expands now its creating work for non-local people and I am not sure that this is on balance serving the interests of the country as a whole or the East of England in particular.

Comment

What is Yoosk?

Yoosk is an interactive interview magazine
which enables you to participate in the
news gathering process by putting your
questions to politicians & celebrities
Six ways to do it
1.Put your questions directly to public figures
2.Get votes for them by mailing & bookmarking
3.Vote for other users’ questions
4.View answers & say what you think of them
5.Join a community of news enthusiasts
6.Submit your own ideas for interview features

Editors, reporters and bloggers
Use our software to set up your own Yoosk
Use our widget to collect your users’ questions
Public figures
Get closer to constituents, fans and customers
Answer their questions directly to webcam

Topics you are talking about:

People you are asking:
Paul Hudson Ian Levitt Kyle MacRae Sven Goran Eriksson Gordon Brown David Davis Brian Barwick Sepp Blatter Sir Alex Ferguson Sian Berry kevin Rudd Denis MacShane Andy Williamson David Miliband Gisela Stuart