Help Midlands, North and Wales - Expand Birmingham Airport.

Very interesting letter in today's Telegraph under the heading 'Expanding Birmingham Airport would help encourage regional growth'. Its signed by several MPs, 3 of them Conservative colleagues. For years I 've thought development of international air services at Birmingham to ba a no-brainer. Lets consider the positives.

Biggest plus is that it would spread prosperity beyond the South-East, an already congested over-developed corner of Britain - greatly benefiting the North of England and Wales as well the Midlands. It would enable businesses in these areas to develop global links, which are so much more effective when they are direct links - not involving connections in one of the London airports. It would utilise the spare runway capacity that exists at Birmingham at present. And it would ensure that HS2 (if it goes ahead) would be a catalyst for moving prosperity from London to the North, rather than the reverse.

And it would benefit my constituency of Montgomeryshire. About 15 yrs ago I was involved in promoting inward investment. One of the companies was a specialist tool manufacturer from Canada named Fisher-Gauge. At the official opening I looked through the company's promotion brochures, which described its location as 'West of Birmingham'. When I expressed my disappointment that there being no mention of mid-Wales, the Chairman explained that his potential customers had never heard of it - but they had heard of Birmingham.

I have not been involved in the campaign behind today's letter. Didn't know it was so active. The letter prompted me to contact the writers to ask to be involved in the future.