Ben Houchen and Tees Valley Airport

[DRiddle]

As the Labour councillors pose for photos at food banks, Ben Houchen appears to have delivered on his election pledge to buy back Tees Valley Airport.

Remember how he was criticized by Labour when he first pledged he would do this if elected?

He was called out yesterday by Teesside MP's who debated what the future holds. Alex Cunningham said: "The Tees Valley Mayor, he's pledged to buy the airport, and that pledge has captured the imagination of voters. It's now time for the Tees Valley Mayor to publish his business plan to buy the airport, complete with numbers and sources of funding – or be honest about it and admit that he can't deliver that promise." – November 2017.

Fast forward a little over a year and he's done it. Mr Houchen said the money would come from the budget allocated to him by government and would have "zero impact" on local Council Tax bills.

Obviously Labour are criticising him for potentially wasting public money and blah blah blah.

Taking back control of privately owned transport systems such as railways is literally a core Labour manifesto pledge. Yet because it's a Tory who has done something similar the other Labour council leaders such as CAB are up in arms.

Dave Budd even went as far as to call it a "vanity project".

How can seemingly securing the future of an airport that otherwise would have potentially became a housing estate be a vanity project?

It'll be a chilly day in hell before I vote Conservative, but credit where credit is due.

This is a politician actually delivering on a core election pledge.

Where as in Hartlepool, I'm STILL waiting for that Ferris Wheel . . .

[kevplumb]

have to agree

[Inspector Knacker]

Watched the Council Leaders on local news lining up to have a pop and I thought to myself here we go. They've been quiet for far too long and will revert to type and start digging away at the foundations.
Doubtless they 're still sulking over the result and think they can do a better job and have finally gnawed their way through the communal restraining leash and muzzle to start yapping and howling at the moon.

[Lucy Lass-Tick]

Don't representatives of the local councils have seats on the board of Durham Tees Valley Airport/Peel Holdings?

[Inspector Knacker]

Dave Budd even went as far as to call it a "vanity project".

He only had to ask. Hartlepool is a worldbeater and wrote the book on vanity projects and has the leading proponents in the black art.