” … What is the alternative? Well, there is dictatorship. That is a way of getting airports, power stations, roads, railways and other large-scale infrastructure built much more quickly. Turn me into Stalin and I can build houses where I like because I have a grand vision of what is best for the nation. Give autocratic power to exponents of fracking and they will have a drilling rig anywhere they fancy. The cheerleaders for expanding Heathrow point to China and, as if it were the clinching argument for laying down more tarmac, say that the Chinese are banging out a new airport every week – or something like that. That you can do when you do not have to be troubled by democratic debate and public consent and can crush communities with the pen stroke of a Beijing autocrat.

Democracy is much more complicated. It is fractious. It can be tortuously slow to arrive at decisions. It can be extremely frustrating to men with grand plans. Thank goodness for that. As Winston Churchill said, democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the other ones.”