1. Economic / Political
1.1. Boris Johnson
1.1.1. Heathrow is "fundamentally in the wrong place" and to expand here would be to add to existing errors
1.1.2. "You can't go on expecting Britain to compete with France and Germany when we simply can't supply the flights to growth destinations."
1.1.3. There would be no issue with raising enough funds
1.1.4. Committed to making London the best big city in the world. It would give us presence within the world
1.1.5. With political willpower it could be built within the decade
1.2. David Cameron
1.2.1. Need for further flight capacity in the south east
1.2.2. "We need to retain our status as a key global hub for air travel"
1.2.3. Decisions need to be taken for the long term
1.3. George Osborne
1.3.1. Infrastructure is key to the UK's economic future within a global economy
1.3.2. There is a need to investigate all options for a UK aviation hub
1.4. Richard Branson
1.4.1. The airport would force Heathrow to close
1.4.2. A Thames airport could take twenty years
1.4.3. More airport capacity is vitally needed
1.5. Nick Clegg
1.5.1. The economic and environmental costs will make it unviable
1.5.2. Will veto the decision if needed
1.5.3. He is prepared for it to be considered as part as a larger aviation consultation
1.6. Colin Matthews (BAA)
1.6.1. There would be serious consequences for Heathrow as there is no possibility of two hubs
1.6.2. It would mean the loss of over 100,000 jobs
1.6.3. Pleased the government has realised the need for further airport capacity
1.7. Julian Huppert
1.7.1. "Boris Island" is no more than an election ploy
1.7.2. There is no evidence we will need such an increase in airport capacity.The airport would allow for nearly 5 times the amount of passengers for which the Department for Transport is predicting
1.8. Maria Eagle
1.8.1. Plans are an unrealistic distraction from the real issue of airport capacity
1.8.2. Have to look at maximising existing capacity
1.9. Ken Livingston
1.9.1. 114,000 west London jobs are threatened. This equates to 1 in 5 in the local area.
1.9.2. I’ll do everything within my power to stop this plan which threatens disastrous consequences for Londoners."
1.9.3. Split hubs in Tokyo and Dubai have caused the downgrading of one of the city’s airport
1.9.4. It is estimated that The Thames Hub would take 16 years to build at a cost of some £50bn
2. Environmental
2.1. RSPB
2.1.1. Thames mudflats are irreplaceable for the wildlife that lives there, as are the salt marshes, tributaries and water meadows
2.1.2. The area is currently the habitat to hundreds of thousands of wading birds
2.1.3. “Concreting over our natural environment and pumping more carbon into our atmosphere is no way to grow a long term sustainable future of our country"
2.2. Mark Reckless
2.2.1. Devastating for local environment
2.2.2. Boris's plans are not properly thought through
2.3. Friends of the Earth
2.3.1. "A new airport in the Thames estuary would have a devastating impact on local communities and the environment - and all for pie-in-the sky economics that simply don't add up"
2.3.2. "London doesn't need another hub airport - the capital already has more flights to the world's main business destinations than our European neighbours"
2.3.3. "David Cameron's pledge to lead the greenest Government ever will ring hollow if he gives the green light to a huge expansion in air travel."
3. Social
3.1. Public
3.1.1. Thousands of new direct and indirect jobs created
3.1.2. Huge boost for local economy
3.1.3. Equal investment throughout all areas of London
3.1.4. Concerns about increase in traffic
3.1.5. Destruction of beautiful scenery
4. Design
4.1. Norman Foster
4.1.1. Self funded proposal for the airport made
4.1.2. The building of this airport would be “the most powerful single statement we could make about the ambition of this country”
4.1.3. This would be a statement of entrepreneurialism and industrial derring-do
4.2. Richard Deakin (NATS)
4.2.1. The proposed airport is in the 'very worst spot' for London flight paths
4.2.2. There would be serious challenges with accommodating all the aircraft