Rachel Reeves fired off a warning to Cabinet ministers that they’ll have to get behind a decision on the expansion of Heathrow Airport.
The Chancellor effectively confirmed that she’d give her backing to divisive proposals for a third runway at the west London airport in a speech this week.
Ms Reeves has declared war on the “blockers” as she pushes to fire up economic growth. But the expansion of Heathrow has long been controversial in Labour ranks, with a number of ministers, including Keir Starmer, voting against it in 2018.
Labour supported the idea in its 2010 manifesto but Ed Miliband withdrew his backing when he was party leader – and later revealed he had argued with his predecessor Gordon Brown about it.
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Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publis)
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who was elected for a third term on a platform of opposing airport expansion, has expressed concern about air quality and the UK’s net zero goals.
Ms Reeves is expected to sell the plans to backbenchers on Monday at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party. She is also expected to endorse proposals for expansion at Gatwick and Luton airports.
In a message to her colleagues, she told Sky: “We’ll make announcements about policies when we’re ready to do so, with full collective ministerial responsibility.” Collective responsibility means all members of Cabinet must publicly support Government decisions – even if they don’t agree.
Ms Reeves did not deny she was planning to endorse the plans, instead saying developments in sustainable aviation mean it goes “hand in hand” with boosting the economy.
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She told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “A lot has changed in terms of aviation. A sustainable aviation fuel is changing carbon emissions from flying.
“There’s huge investment going on in electric planes, and also a third runway will mean that instead of circling London, flights can land at Heathrow. So a lot has changed in aviation, and sustainable aviation and economic growth go hand in hand.”
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said she would support plans for a third runway. “I’ve had to vote on this before and I voted in support of the third runway. What I want to do is make sure it’s done in the right way,” she said.
“I think we need to make sure that we deliver infrastructure and if Heathrow airport thinks that a third runway is deliverable within the criteria that’s set, then I think that we should be honest and do the right thing.”