Just a few hours before Shadow Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers MP unveiled plans to scrap the proposed third runway at Heathrow and build the first of several high-speed lines in the UK at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on September 29 (RB1327 p4), she sought clearance from her party leader David Cameron. AfteT a thoughtful pause the answer was 'go ahead', she confided to a seminar on Conservative rail policy development on October 9, thus confirming that Cameron was fully behind what - for his party - was a major policy shift from backing short-haul airlines and more road construction to catching up with the rest of Europe on high-speed rail.
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