評論
打印
Britain
英國
NIMBYism and the election
鄰避主義與選舉
The anti-tarmac vote
柏油碎石路反對者投票
The Conservatives are getting squeezed over big building projects
保守黨在大型建筑工程上束手無策
ON first glance, the constituency of Brentford & Isleworth, in west London, looks like a typical Conservative Party heartland. It is full of boutique shops and cafés. The back streets are lined with pretty Victorian terraced houses.
乍一看，位于西倫敦的布倫特福德和艾爾沃思選區像是典型的保守黨中心地帶。這里的精品店和咖啡店星羅密布。后街是一排排漂亮的維多利亞連棟房屋。
Yet Mary Macleod, the Conservative incumbent, has a fight on her hands to hold the seat. This is partly down to demographics. Along with plenty of middle-class residents the seat is dotted with council estates, and is also home to large Pakistani and Indian populations who have tended to vote for the Labour Party. But one of the biggest problems for Ms Macleod is not on the ground but in the air.
然而保守黨人瑪麗·麥克勞德要想贏得這個地區的選票還得苦戰一番。這部分與人口統計有關。連同大量的中產階級居民，該中心地帶散布著地方所屬地產，同時也是傾向于為工黨投票的巴基斯坦人、印度人的家鄉。但麥克勞德面臨的最大問題不在地面上而是在空中。
Each day dozens of aeroplanes fly over the constituency, which is near Heathrow airport. And depending on the outcome of the Airports Commission, which was set up by the coalition government to look into airport expansion, and which will report after the election, even more could criss-cross over the area.
該選區位于希思羅機場附近，每一天都有幾十架飛機掠過其上空。聯合政府設立了機場委員會來調查機場擴張情況，具體情況將在選舉后進行報告，根據其結果，也許會有更多的飛機在這片區域上空穿梭。
Ms Macleod first won the seat in 2010 with a majority of 1,958 by campaigning heavily against airport expansion. And although Heathrow is not the only issue worrying local voters, winning the seat could still hinge on how effectively the Conservative incumbent can distinguish herself from Ruth Cadbury, the Labour candidate, who is also against a bigger airport. Ms Macleod's plight points to a larger problem for the Conservatives. Too often for comfort, well-meaning plans to improve the country's roads, airports and railways clash with the NIMBYish instincts of their core supporters.
2010年，麥克勞德以強烈反對機場擴建開展競選活動，以1958的多數票贏得了席位。盡管希思羅機場不是當地選民唯一擔憂的事，但麥克勞德的當選仍取決于這位保守黨人在與同樣反對建設大機場的工黨候選人露絲·凱德波里相比時，能多有效地提高自己的辨識度。麥克勞德的困境指出了工黨存在的一個更大問題。通常為了提高舒適度、意圖良好的升級城市道路、機場和鐵路等計劃會觸動鄰避主義核心支持者的敏感神經。
The country's infrastructure is creaking. Sir Howard Davies, who heads the Airport Commission, estimates that Heathrow is full to capacity while Gatwick, the other option for airport expansion, will be full by 2020. According to the World Economic Forum British roads rank a lowly 30th in the world for quality, just above Chile and Sri Lanka. David Cameron, the prime minister, acknowledges the problem. The Conservative Party manifesto, launched on April 14th, commits to previous plans to splash out 15 billion ($22 billion) on the road network and 38 billion on the railways over the next parliament. Mr Cameron also reiterated support for HS2, a shiny new 42 billion high-speed railway from London to Manchester.
英國的基礎設施正在咯吱作響。領導機場委員會的霍華德·戴維斯閣下預計希思羅容量已達到飽和，而機場擴建的另一選址蓋特威克將在2020年達到飽和。根據世界經濟論壇數據顯示，英國道路質量在世界排名低至30名，僅略高于智利和斯里蘭卡。大衛·卡梅倫首相意識到了這個問題。于4月14號發表的保守黨宣言承諾要堅持原有計劃，花費150億英鎊（220億美元）在道路網建設上，下一屆議會將花費380億在鐵路建設上。卡梅倫也重申了對HS2(花費420億英鎊新建的從倫敦到曼徹斯特的高鐵)的支持。
Yet in doing so, Mr Cameron has infuriated many natural Conservative voters. HS2, which runs through a series of safe blue seats in Buckinghamshire, is particularly divisive. The railway is a “headache” on the doorstep, admits one Conservative MP seeking re-election, as he is often limited in how vocally he can oppose it. To add to Tory woes, the UK Independence Party, which scooped up six council seats in 2013 along the route, is making hay on the issue. It claims to be the “only” party against the “construction disruption” HS2 will bring (although the Green Party also opposes it).
然而這樣做，卡梅倫激怒了很多保守派選民。HS2雖在白金漢宮里贏得了一眾議員的支持，但特別有爭議性。一保守黨人承認，該鐵路確實是家門口的“麻煩”，他正在試圖重新當選，因為他能發出的反對之聲是有限的。新晉的托利黨敵人、2013年在沿線撈得了6個議會席位的英國獨立黨正借此事獲取私利。它聲稱是“唯一”反對HS2帶來的“建筑破壞”的政黨（盡管綠黨同樣也反對HS2）。
NIMBYs pose difficulties for any government, but particularly for Mr Cameron's, which has often trumpeted the notion that it is investing in Britain's infrastructure to levels not seen since the Victorian era. If economic growth is to be sustainable, then more infrastructure will be needed to support it. But if Heathrow is given the go-ahead for expansion, for instance, it will be “campaign, campaign and campaign again,” warns Barbara Reid, a local resident and former Conservative councillor. Getting Britain moving will require a big push from the next government—especially if the Tories win.
鄰避主義者給任何政府都帶來了麻煩，但對卡梅倫政府來說尤其如此，它經常吹噓在為英國基礎建設投資上，其規模之大自維多利亞時代以來都十分罕見。如果經濟增長穩定的話，就需要更多的基礎設施來支持。當地居民且曾為保守黨議員的芭芭拉·瑞德警告，如果希思羅的擴建得到許可，它將演化成“競選，競選，再競選”。要讓英國繼續前進需要下一屆政府大力推一把——特別是托利黨當選的話。譯者：王穎 校對：石海霞
譯文屬譯生譯世
