No to 3rd runway: a cheaper solution

With the Airports Commission finally having the courage to discard what has become known as "Mr Johnson`s estuary proposal", the choice appears to be between expanding Heathrow and Gatwick. However, an alternative  makes more sense, especially as spending billions on a runway and the environmental changes which will inevitably accompany it seems both absurd and obscene, when the country`s heath, education and welfare services are under so much pressure.

       Even if, as the Guardian`s Nils Pratley contends, Gatwick is looking the "least bad option", the most sensible proposal of all is not to have any runway extension at all. Instead, make Heathrow the hub, exclusively the  airport for long haul flights, and have Gatwick and Stansted the centres for short-haul holiday flights. Or perhaps,  this is too sensible for politicians like Boris, who care more for personal reputations and self-glorification than governing the country properly, taking care for its people/