Heathrow and Harmondsworth

This is something of a David and Goliath story
But it’s certainly not as simple as say Labour versus Tory
This is a cross party story for every season
It’s a classic tale of corporate greed versus civic reason.

We start our story in the village of Harmondsworth
A pretty Doomsday parish built on medieval earth
Which has been under constant attack in the post war era
By an expanding airport that keeps getting nearer and nearer.

Harmondsworth Village still delivers a punch well above its weight,
But if Heathrow Airport gets its way then it’ll receive a terminal fate.
Heathrow airport will be expanded and the village will be wiped from the map
And this beautiful medieval village will be mercilessly crushed in a corporate trap.

This ancient village is something of an oddity today, that is for sure,
Sandwiched between the world’s busiest airport and the mighty M4
And the M25 is just a mile or two to the West,
But if you don’t fancy the motorways then the Bath Road is best.

There is a medieval barn quite the most splendid in the land
And an ancient Norman church to admire quite close to hand
A couple of pubs and two shops for the convenience of the day
And some community halls for hire if you want to have your say.

There’s a primary school and a kindergarten too
And the houses are a pleasant mixture of the old and the new.
And the farmland surrounding the village makes it okay
For a leisurely ramble or cycle virtually any-time of the day.

British Airways have their headquarters there in the way that Penguin Books used to do
And there are hotels in abundance for those international travellers just passing through.
But there is also the sinister detention centre with its mean fences and barbed wire
For those unhappy inmates it’s a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire.

But there are rural joys aplenty for those who are able to make the time
A stroll across the moors in summer is like a glass of fine wine.
And a walk to the adjoining villages through farmland is ideal for Sunday brunch
Or a stint at the local allotment if you care to grow your own lunch.

But all this is in deadly jeopardy as Heathrow Airport flexes its considerable might
After twenty five years of struggle the village must again gear up for the fight.
To the credit of the local residents, the local Council, Grow Heathrow and the local MP
It is not a done deal, as the Heathrow bosses will presently see.

The root of the problem lies in privatised utilities
Where private profit takes precedence over our infrastructure facilities.
Under the current corporate regime there is no sense of planning
And the record of successive governments is both shameful and damning.

So what is the solution if Harmondsworth is not to die?
The answer is certainly not more planes in the sky.
Local air quality is already way below accepted European levels
Another half million flights is akin to dancing with the devil.
And the noise is so horrific it would deflate even poor cupid
The further expansion of Heathrow is just plane stupid.

Privatised airports and railways and energy suppliers
Must be freed from the financiers and their global consortium of liars
And returned to public ownership so a rational plan can be made
And if democracy is to mean anything government must step out of the shade

Of murky corporate lobbyists and criminal hedge fund operators
And make a principled public stand with sustainable innovators
For an integrated transport system fit for the 21st century
Forget about mega airports stuck out in the Estuary.
Let’s use what we have but use it more rationally.

London has many airports already which are grossly under-utilised.
Let’s link them together with free public transport which can be publicly subsidized.
Heathrow could be exclusively for the Long Haul then there will be more than enough capacity
The concept of a single hub airport is a corporate fiction and a polluting audacity.

Encourage short haul passengers onto clean subsidized railways
With catastrophic climate change looming these must be low carbon days.

So it transpires that Harmondsworth is really just a microcosm for the whole of London City
Where there is no thought about quality of living it’s a blatant crime and a pity
That the air is increasingly unbreathable and the noise increasingly unbearable
And while the global conglomerates rule the roost human progress seems undoable.

Which political party will come forward to reclaim our common assets and wealth?
Which political leaders will stand up to the corporates who rob us by stealth?
Will the Tories or Lib Dems or UKIP or Labour unambiguously step forward as Harmondsworth’s saviour?
And in so doing take a principled stance and sow the seed
For the ongoing struggle against corporate cunning and greed.

No to Corporate Plunder, on their banners unfurled.
The battle for Harmondsworth is a battle for a more rational world.
Facing down the corporates and their own imminent demise
The residents of Harmondsworth will again defiantly arise.
And in so doing take a stand against the cold corporate machine

This will be a battle the likes of which London has rarely seen.
David versus Goliath the fight is not finished
Despite bribes and bullying, local resolve is still undiminished.
No time for political excuses and sitting on the fence
Heathrow’s never-ending expansion just makes no sense.

Heathrow expansion must be stopped once all for all
Today plucky little Harmondsworth is still standing tall
And its message to Heathrow: The harder they come the harder they fall.

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