Timing is everything

How ironic, after all these years we finally get a legal approval for the 3rd runway at Heathrow. Not for not to rehearse in depth the oddness of our planning system that allows NIMBY's to hold up major national infrastructure.

Instead to marvel at what must now be the ruins of the economic case put forward by the BAA and the airlines about how necessary this is for capacity. As I have said before, we won't be worrying about capacity as the airlines are closing rapidly and the price of slots at Heathrow, I understand, is collapsing. Heathrow currently is not even the busiest airport in Europe at the moment, having fallen behind Charles de Gaulle and Schipol. 

So of course, let's go an build a 3rd runway now. Maybe by the time it is actually done air travel will have recovered, I have a hunch though that climate change puritanism is also going to have a bigger and bigger impact in future years, now that Finance Directors have discovered how cheap zoom is. 

The G7 Agenda - Whoops, Apocalypse

Inclusive economic growth

Gender equality and women's empowerment

World peace and security

Jobs of the future

Climate change and oceans



I know I should not be amazed any more at the capture of the world agenda by a bunch of inconsequential and hand-wringing socialist wishes, but really, I am.


The G7 meeting this weekend comes on the back of one of the most fraught periods in international politics for some time. Russia has been actively attacking the West with covert operations for while, the Korean peninsular swings between war and peace at the whims of some fairly nutty leaders and the US has decided a trade war is the way forward to help its already strong economy.


Meanwhile, the world economy actually ticks along quite nicely, even Argentina is getting a deliverable and simply IMF bailout. The US economy is in great shape, as is China, Africa is growing fast and the sclerosis in Europe is still there by dormant for now thanks to monetary easing.


But politically, wow, the world is in a tough place. ISIS is gone but, as with Al-Qaeda's destruction, a new variant will soon pop to life - the Middle East's state of civil war continues. And this is in addition to the above.


So of course, inclusive economic growth - whatever this means and gender equality are the key issues in the world. Hoping for world peace too and jobs of the future  - what a load of twaddle. At least climate change and the oceans has some purpose in needing the big economies to agree what and how to deliver change.


Unsurprisingly, the agenda comes from Jeremy Corbyn's young acolyte, Justin Trudeau. Worryingly, this kind of agenda is designed to look and sound caring but will deliver nothing. Indeed, Trump et al won't even engage with it. Which will leave him crowing from the his moral high ground as nothing of note is achieved.


The end of the Western age beckons quickly if this is the route the leaders choose.