经济学人:邻避主义与选举 柏油碎石路反对者投票

 　　Britain

　　英国

　　NIMBYism and the election

　　邻避主义与选举

　　The anti-tarmac vote

　　柏油碎石路反对者投票

　　The Conservatives are getting squeezed over big building projects

　　保守党在大型建筑工程上束手无策

　　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，位于西伦敦的布伦特福德和艾尔沃思选区像是典型的保守党中心地带。这里的精品店和咖啡店星罗密布。后街是一排排漂亮的维多利亚连栋房屋。

　　Yet Mary Macleod, the Conservative incumbent¹, 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.

　　然而保守党人玛丽·麦克劳德要想赢得这个地区的选票还得苦战一番。这部分与人口统计有关。连同大量的中产阶级居民，该中心地带散布着地方所属地产，同时也是倾向于为工党投票的巴基斯坦人、印度人的家乡。但麦克劳德面临的最大问题不在地面上而是在空中。

　　柏油碎石路反对者投票.jpg

　　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 coalition² government to look into airport expansion, and which will report after the election, even more could criss-cross over the area.

　　该选区位于希思罗机场附近，每一天都有几十架飞机掠过其上空。联合政府设立了机场委员会来调查机场扩张情况，具体情况将在选举后进行报告，根据其结果，也许会有更多的飞机在这片区域上空穿梭。

　　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 plight³ 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，麦克劳德以强烈反对机场扩建开展竞选活动，以1958的多数票赢得了席位。尽管希思罗机场不是当地选民唯一担忧的事，但麦克劳德的当选仍取决于这位保守党人在与同样反对建设大机场的工党候选人露丝·凯德波里相比时，能多有效地提高自己的辨识度。麦克劳德的困境指出了工党存在的一个更大问题。通常为了提高舒适度、意图良好的升级城市道路、机场和铁路等计划会触动邻避主义核心支持者的敏感神经。

　　The country's infrastructure⁴ 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 Forum⁵ 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 manifesto⁶, 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 reiterated⁷ support for HS2, a shiny new 42 billion high-speed railway from London to Manchester.

　　英国的基础设施正在咯吱作响。领导机场委员会的霍华德·戴维斯阁下预计希思罗容量已达到饱和，而机场扩建的另一选址盖特威克将在2020年达到饱和。根据世界经济论坛数据显示，英国道路质量在世界排名低至30名，仅略高于智利和斯里兰卡。大卫·卡梅伦首相意识到了这个问题。于4月14号发表的保守党宣言承诺要坚持原有计划，花费150亿英镑（220亿美元）在道路网建设上，下一届议会将花费380亿在铁路建设上。卡梅伦也重申了对HS2(花费420亿英镑新建的从伦敦到曼彻斯特的高铁)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 vocally⁸ he can oppose it. To add to Tory woes⁹, the UK Independence Party, which scooped¹⁰ 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).

　　然而这样做，卡梅伦激怒了很多保守派选民。HS2虽在白金汉宫里赢得了一众议员的支持，但特别有争议性。一保守党人承认，该铁路确实是家门口的“麻烦”，他正在试图重新当选，因为他能发出的反对之声是有限的。新晋的托利党敌人、2013年在沿线捞得了6个议会席位的英国独立党正借此事获取私利。它声称是“唯一”反对HS2带来的“建筑破坏”的政党（尽管绿党同样也反对HS2）。

　　NIMBYs pose difficulties for any government, but particularly for Mr Cameron's, which has often trumpeted¹¹ 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.

　　邻避主义者给任何政府都带来了麻烦，但对卡梅伦政府来说尤其如此，它经常吹嘘在为英国基础建设投资上，其规模之大自维多利亚时代以来都十分罕见。如果经济增长稳定的话，就需要更多的基础设施来支持。当地居民且曾为保守党议员的芭芭拉·瑞德警告，如果希思罗的扩建得到许可，它将演化成“竞选，竞选，再竞选”。要让英国继续前进需要下一届政府大力推一把——特别是托利党当选的话。

　　1.tend to 趋向；偏重

　　例句:They also tend to get paid higher salaries.

　　他们也会得到更高的工资。

　　2.vote for 投票赞成；建议

　　例句:Visitors can vote for the object they think should be disposed of.

　　参观者可参与投票，选出他们认为该处理掉的物品。

　　3.point to 表明

　　例句:Analysts¹² point to several elements likely to lift prices.

　　分析师指出了可能会提高玉米期货价格的几个因素。

　　4.plan to 打算,计划

　　例句:Many plan to stomach more risk.

　　许多人计划承担更多的风险。

1 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

6 manifesto   

n.宣言，声明

参考例句：

• I was involved in the preparation of Labour's manifesto.我参与了工党宣言的起草工作。
• His manifesto promised measures to protect them.他在宣言里保证要为他们采取保护措施。

7 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

8 vocally   

adv. 用声音, 用口头, 藉著声音

参考例句：

• She is not SCREAMER or MOANER - She is VOCALLY APPRECIATIVE. 她并不乱叫或发牢骚，只是用声音表示喜怒。
• The left has been vocally against. 左派力量一直竭力声讨。

9 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

10 scooped   

v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 trumpeted   

大声说出或宣告（trumpet的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Soldiers trumpeted and bugled. 士兵们吹喇叭鸣号角。
• The radio trumpeted the presidential campaign across the country. 电台在全国范围大力宣传总统竞选运动。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。