WELL, surprise, surprise... not! The Government has given the go-ahead for a third runway and sixth terminal at Heathrow Airport.

The real surprise for me was that I felt a sudden compulsion to vote Conservative at the next general election, as apparently they are completely opposed to any expansion and to the idea of 'mixed mode' (taking off and landing on both runways).

If I voted Conservative though, it would mean sacrificing so many other principals and beliefs for the sake of one issue. Then to my relief it occurred to me that if the Tory Party is genuinely opposed and principled, and not just trying to increase its share of the vote, all it has to do is state that if and when it forms a government in the future, that they will pull the plug on the project however far into the planning stage it is or even if construction has begun.

With a strong chance of the Tories winning the next election, or the one after this, it would almost certainly consign these plans to the rubbish bin, where they belong.

It would also prove that the Tory Party is genuinely concerned about the environment and the people living in it without a vote being cast. I am sure that political rewards would come later as people's gratitude for stopping the cancerous-like growth of Heathrow Airport was so rapidly achieved.

IAN WESTOLL Belgrave Road, Hounslow.