Expansion at Heathrow does not only fly in the face of the scientific imperative that we reduce our emissions. It also makes a farce of the democratic process on which we traditionally rely.

On May the 2nd Britain woke up to a very different political landscape. The significant Tory gains told of the shadows to come: shadows which indicate just how dark our future could be. With Boris now mayor, London’s hopes for setting a benchmark to radicalise the Brown government’s environmental policies have faded. No longer have we a mayor who is willing openly to confront the climate-wrecking policies of New Labour.

This is, however, only a small part of the story. A Tory government may do little to alter the business-as-usual trajectory to catastrophic climate change; but Brown is certainly not taking the necessary harsh measures he once purported to advocate. Not only is he doing nothing to reduce UK emissions in line with targets, but he is actively supporting and investing in irresponsible projects that will entail massive emissions growth. At the forefront of these projects is the expansion of Heathrow.

Expansion at Heathrow does not only fly in the face of the scientific imperative that we reduce our emissions. It also makes a farce of the democratic process on which we traditionally rely. The public consultation on adding capacity at Heathrow highlighted the undemocratic nature of the government’s actions. In not allowing dissenting voices within the parameters of the document, it denied the vast democratic majority a voice in choosing the fate of their own city, country and indeed their planet. Instead, what it did, quite clearly, was to highlight the cosy relationship between Brown and big business.

Democracy is failing us. Our representative government is not representing us; we have no voice in the decisions that determine our fate. The aviation industry, already subsidised to the tune of £10 billion annually, is now quite explicitly driving public policy. The locus of power is not with the people, or even their representatives, but with profit and business. The old accusation that it is corporations who take these decisions rings truer as every new policy – whether it be in energy, transport or elsewhere – is announced. So where does this leave us?

Where institutionalised democracy fails, an alternative is needed – an alternative that reminds people what it is to have a voice and to participate in the decision-making processes that shape the outcomes of their lives. Non-violent direct action is a legitimate, if not the only remaining, response to this democratic failure. When the traditional channels of politics are rendered so corrupt, we must look beyond them.

Plane Stupid have made clear that direct action against the aviation industry and their government cronies is vital: both as a means of raising public awareness regarding the dire consequences of airport expansion and the impact of air travel on our battle to stop climate change; and as a method of collective bargaining with which the government must engage. Direct action gives a platform to those disempowered by parliamentary politics – to those that party politics consistently neglects.

This generation of activists are the last generation who can stop climate change. We have seen the failure of traditional forms of protest during the run-up to Iraq. Plane Stupid know – as do so many others, both young and old – that if we are to stop the business-as-usual agenda, that direct action is a means we must use. We also know what it is to participate directly in true democracy: with our horizontal power structures and our consensus decision-making processes, the activist community could certainly give the Brown government a lesson or two in successful democracy.

In 2007, 78% of people said that they would be prepared to change their behaviour to tackle the threat of climate change: given this, we must wonder why, in light of such a clear mandate, the government consistently fails to act.

But it may perhaps be time to leave aside such questions and begin the long course of action necessary to meet today’s challenges. We will try to stop irresponsible political decisions. We will try to reverse them if they are made. But as democracy continues to be left in the gutter it should not surprise anyone that when the time comes, Plane Stupid and many others – both inside and outside party politics – will be there to meet the bulldozers.

If we are to confront the true nature of the climate threat, the government must first scrap its airport expansion plans. The construction of the Third Runway at Heathrow would make meeting even the pathetically inadequate 60% reduction target impossible. Research from the Tyndall Centre shows that with expansion on this business-as-usual trajectory, flight numbers will treble by 2050. This is not going to stop climate change. The public has woken up to this reality: is it not, now, the turn of the government to face the facts?