Today Karl McCartney MP will welcome another Minister to his City of Lincoln Constituency – this time the Defence Minister, Rt Hon Mark Francois MP. The visit is particularly apt in the light of Karl’s campaign to ensure that the Waddington International Air Show returns to his Constituency in 2016 after the major upgrade works to the Base’s runway are completed by Summer 2015.
Karl McCartney MP says: “I am delighted to be welcoming Mark Francois MP to our City’s RAF Base. I am sure he will be suitably impressed with the professionalism of our RAF personnel stationed here and will want to take the opportunity to thank them in person for the work they do in helping to keep us all safe.
“The Minister’s visit will also provide me with another opportunity to leave him in no doubt that the RAF Waddington International Air Show is an event that is firmly entrenched in Lincolnshire's heart. It is the largest of all RAF air shows, and is regularly attended by over 140,000 visitors. Indeed, tickets for the 2014 Air Show were sold out before the event even took place. If the 2016 Waddington Air Show does not go ahead, not only will the people of Lincoln and Lincolnshire, and those from further afield, be deprived of the largest and most spectacular Air Show in the Country, but the RAF and local charities will be deprived of the generous proceeds that this extraordinary annual event guarantees them. It is also important for us to ensure that the Air Show takes place at Waddington in 2017 ahead of what will be the large and year-long celebrations of the RAF's existence in 2018.
“I was greatly encouraged by the Defence Secretary’s answer to my Parliamentary Question on the Floor of the House of Commons on Monday when he told me that he very much hopes that the Waddington Air Show will be able to return in 2016. I shall be seeking similar reassurance from the Minister of State for the Armed Forces when he visits us.”
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The Minister will be available for interview today at the Horse and Jockey Public House in High Street, Waddington between 11.45am and 12.30pm. For further information, please contact Karl McCartney MP at [email protected] / 020 7219 7221.