It's a great sign of confidence in Exeter and our local economy that Flybe is going to start regular flights to London City Airport, writes Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw. It was not so long ago that the company seemed in trouble and Exeter, along with most regional airports, was suffering from the impact of the global recession and the Government's Air Passenger Duty, which hits regional airports and regional airlines particularly hard. People who've struggled by rail or road through this last terrible winter will welcome an alternative. Competitive pricing and an early morning flight that will get you to London in time for a 9am meeting will give the rail companies a run for their money. It's not the link into our main national hub at Heathrow or to Gatwick that some would like to see. But it's a start and it consolidates Exeter's position as our region's economic powerhouse. It boosts confidence in the future of our airport and Flybe – a major local employer and important provider of skills and training.
I WAS one of three Westcountry MPs to withhold my support from the Government's HS2 project this week.
In principle, I support high speed rail and it is ridiculous when Spain and Italy have a comprehensive network of modern high speed railways we are lagging so far behind. But given the travel chaos we've suffered in the South West in recent years I couldn't bring myself to vote for tens of billions of pounds to be spent on HS2 when a fraction of that money would deliver us a reliable and resilient railway in the South West. It shouldn't be an "either or", but a question of priorities.
THE best of Exeter and the region were on display at our wonderful food festival last weekend. What a fantastic annual event this has become, attracting visitors from all over the country and overseas. So many people came up to me to say how much they loved the festival and that it was their favourite local event of the year. I was honoured to be asked to be one of the judges this year, but couldn't because the judging took place on the Friday morning when I had other constituency commitments. That's probably just as well, because if you're asked to judge something you'll please one or two people but risk disappointing the rest. Not a sensible position for an elected representative to put themselves in.
IT'S pretty clear that if the Conservatives win the next election they'll bring back hunting. Cameron's ducked the Commons vote on the issue he promised because he knows he'd lose. But Tory MPs are giving a nod and wink to the hunting lobby: give us your money and support and we'll scrap the hunting Act if we win the election. That should be a warning to all those who care about animal welfare.
SATURDAY broke my jinx of only watching Exeter lose this season. It was a great end to the season and atmosphere at St James's Park as the Grecians staved off relegation. More play like that next season please.
