Just a couple of months ago, Theresa Villiers explicitly distanced herself and the party from Boris Johnson’s ideas about an airport in the Thames estuary.
In a letter to a Lib Dem MP, the shadow transport secretary wrote:
"With regard to media debate on the possibility of a new airport
in the Thames Estuary, this is not an option at which the Conservative
party is looking. Boris Johnson is considering a range
of ideas relevant to transport and aviation links to our capital city
but this is his own initiative."
Yet today, on the BBC Politics Show, whilst repeating her opposition to the third runway at Heathrow – a position she shares with Boris – asked
if she would look into any of Boris’s aviation proposals, she said:
"It is vital we stop this runway at Heathrow… but we support
aviation in general. Of course we should look at all the options."
Do I detect a softening of the line?
Jonathan Isaby