Lib Dems could change position on airport expansion

The Liberal Democrats are heading for a possible U-turn over their opposition to airport expansion.

The party has been committed to a blanket ban on the construction of any new runways in south-east England.
But two Lib Dem MPs at the party's conference in Glasgow have tabled an amendment that would allow Gatwick Airport to be exempted.
The party leadership backs that plan - putting them on a collision course with many party members who support the ban.
The issue will be debated on the conference floor on Tuesday.
Sources close to Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg are suggesting that airport expansion could take place without increasing carbon emissions due to technological advances.
Fierce resistance The government set up a commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, to consider ways of expanding airport capacity. The commission, which will publish its final report next summer, has shortlisted three options: a third runway at Heathrow, lengthening an existing runway at Heathrow and a second runway at Gatwick.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Lib Dem Energy Secretary Ed Davey said he would back the amendment to exempt Gatwick.
He said: "What we're saying is the environmental criteria we have always had may well be able to allow expansion elsewhere given technological change.
"It's not a U-turn on environmental criteria - that's the key point."
Mr Davey confirmed the move would change Lib Dem policy, but said "it would be doing it for environmental reasons".
He added: "We're not against flying, we're not against people using their cars, we're not against people actually enjoying life and the economy growing.
"We just want to do that in a low-carbon way, we've always said that."
The Lib Dems' "pre manifesto" for next year's general election, published last month, said: "We remain opposed to any expansion of Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick and any new airport in the Thames Estuary, because of local issues of air and noise pollution".
The party's last general election manifesto promised to "cancel plans for a third runway at Heathrow and other airport expansion in the South East."

Gatwick identified three options for a second runway, but the Davies Commission shortlisted Option 3, which would allow fully independent operation.

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said dropping opposition to any new runways at Gatwick, Heathrow or Stansted could make any future coalition talks easier.
The airport expansion amendment has been tabled by Solihull MP Lorely Burt and Stephen Gilbert, who represents St Austell and Newquay.
There is no guarantee that it will be adopted as party policy and it is likely to face fierce resistance, with high profile figures including former London mayoral candidate Lord Paddick expected to speak against it.
'See sense' BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said he understood Lib Dem activists opposed to the party leadership were tabling their own rival motion, calling on the party to look at expanding regional airports like Birmingham and Manchester instead.
Business Secretary Vince Cable has said expansion at Gatwick was "a preferable alternative" and "less problematic" than expansion at Heathrow, which is near to his Twickenham constituency.
But Peter Chivall, of the Green Liberal Democrats group, urged the party leadership to "see sense".
"We will be giving away thousands of votes in the South East and elsewhere if we approve amendments like this and showing, in effect, we're just a patsy for big interests," he told BBC News.
"We know that the only way you can restrict aviation and restrict the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by planes is to restrict the number of runways. And that's the way we have to go."
Health minister Norman Lamb said he was "really torn" on the issue.
Mr Lamb said it was important to weight "the imperative of tackling climate change" against the need to maintain trade links with the developing world.
Lib Dem Transport Minister Baroness Kramer, who until 2010 was MP for a seat under the Heathrow flightpath, said the government must be prepared to defy the recommendation of Sir Howard.
"Any government that says 'we will automatically do what Davies recommends' is abdicating the responsibility they were elected to exercise," she told a fringe meeting.