Matthew Hull, Unlock Democracy

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the government’s plans to approve a third runway at Heathrow Airport were illegal, because it ignored the commitments the government has already made in the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

In rejecting the application for a third runway, the court concluded that “the issue of climate change is a matter of profound national and international importance of great concern to the public – and, indeed, to the Government of the United Kingdom and many other national governments, as is demonstrated by their commitment to the Paris Agreement.”[1] 

This is great news, and demonstrates the importance of having independent courts that can review government decisions in accordance with the law, freely and without favour. We don’t yet know quite how significant this could be, and what exactly this could mean for the UK and the fight against the climate crisis. But whatever happens, you can be sure that it’s going to have a huge impact on democracy in this country.

What does this have to do with democracy?

Boris Johnson’s Conservatives have been hinting that they see the courts as a menace. They framed the Supreme Court’s historic ruling against prorogation in October as interference.[2] In their December 2019 Manifesto, they promised to “ensure that judicial review is not abused to conduct politics by another means or to create needless delays”.[3] Ever since they returned to government with a huge majority, accountability to the courts has been in their crosshairs.

In this judgement, the Court of Appeal has held the government to its international commitments, even when the government wanted to let them slide. And some around Johnson are already saying that the decision - simply bringing government action into line with their own international commitments on climate change - is going to get in the way of the government’s preferred options on trade. Using the PM’s own language, the Heathrow boss said that there can be “no Global Britain without a third runway”.[4]

In this case, the court ruling is one which happens to be politically favourable to Johnson, who has consistently spoken out against a third runway because of its lack of popularity in his own constituency. He famously said he would “lie down in front of bulldozers” to stop the project.[5]

But overall, this is exactly the kind of democratic accountability that Johnson wants to avoid by limiting judicial review - and there is a real risk that the government will do away with key protections in order to get its way. We cannot let the government use crucial judgements like this one that protects our environmental rights as a pretext for attacking judicial review. 

People without money and status need independent courts as a vital way of protecting themselves against abuse by the government. So we need to defend them with everything we’ve got.

We’ll continue to keep you updated on emerging threats to our democratic rights and powers, and we’ll let you know how you can take action to spread the word. For now, thanks so much for standing with us and demanding real accountability from our government.

NOTES 

[1] Friends of the Earth wins campaign to protect the climate from Heathrow third runway

[2] UK Supreme Court ruling should lead to ‘consequences,’ says Boris Johnson

[3] Lawyers for Tories are planning ‘revenge’ against Supreme Court 

[4] Heathrow boss warns: No ‘Global Britain’ without third runway

[5] Boris Johnson: ‘No immediate prospect of Heathrow expansion’

Image attribution: Image by morellonoidea is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0