Rachel Reeves today insisted a third runway at Heathrow can be operational within a decade as she faced a mounting Labour backlash.
The Chancellor appealed for her MPs to recognise the ‘opportunities’ of the long-mooted project, claiming it can be done without harming the environment.
But London Mayor Sadiq Khan immediately renewed his campaign to stop the development yesterday, while Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband – a vocal opponent – snubbed her big speech in Oxford.
Mr Miliband has yet to give a response to the announcement, although sources have stressed he is not going to resign in protest. Downing Street is also refusing to say whether there will be a vote in Parliament, with critics warning resistance is stronger than the leadership believes.
In a round of interviews this morning, Ms Reeves insisted the Cabinet is ‘backing these plans’ and dismissed the idea that Sir Sadiq could block them.
She also rejected industry warnings that the third runway is a ‘dead cat’ because it will take 25 years to complete.
The Government is ‘inviting proposals to be brought forward by the summer’ and will then ‘take forward a full assessment through the Airports National Policy Statement’.
Heathrow sources said airport bosses want to work with the Government on a number of changes before making major investments in the project.
They are seeking planning reforms that mean they can be confident an application to build the scheme will not be held up for several years because of appeals.
They also want an overhaul in how the airport’s finances are regulated, as they believe the current system would not allow them to recoup the investment needed to build a new runway.
The Civil Aviation Authority determines the cap on per passenger charges that airlines must pay to Heathrow.
A third issue that Heathrow bosses want assurances over is airspace modernisation, to reduce the time and fuel wasted by outdated and inefficient flight routes.
If all those barriers are overcome, the next stage will be for the airport to apply for permission to go ahead with the project through a Development Consent Order (DCO).
This process is expected to last around 18 months and will involve a public consultation on the expansion plan.
The Planning Inspectorate will consider the application and make a recommendation to the Transport Secretary, who will decide whether to grant the DCO.
If the scheme is approved, there is a strong possibility that campaigners will launch judicial reviews of the minister’s decision.
If legal challenges are not brought or are unsuccessful, Heathrow can begin construction.
There is currently no timeline for when that will happen but it is likely to be at least another decade before a new runway opens.
The airport is considering investing in its supply chain even before it submits a DCO application and hopes to create new jobs by the end of this Parliament.
‘We’re not just announcing that we back it, we’re changing our planning system… It doesn’t have to take decades, we can crack on,’ she told BBC Breakfast.
Asked about Sir Sadiq’s objections, Ms Reeves said: ‘I have huge respect for Sadiq, but on this I know that sustainable aviation and economic growth can, and do, go hand-in-hand.
‘The way that we fly has changed hugely in recent years, engines have become so much more efficient, reducing carbon emissions and also sustainable aviation fuel is changing the way that we fly with a mandate that came in at the beginning of this year.’
Pressed on whether Mr Miliband was fully behind the plans, Ms Reeves replied: ‘Yes, we are all united as a Cabinet backing these plans.
‘We know that we have to grow our economy, we can’t keep saying no to big infrastructure projects.’
The Government wants proposals for a third runway to be produced by the summer, which will then face a full assessment through the airport national policy statement to ensure it is in line with legal, environmental and climate objectives.
In her speech at a medical equipment firm in Oxfordshire yesterday, Ms Reeves said she was prepared to ‘fight’ for new housing, infrastructure and business projects.
That included tearing up environmental regulations which hamper construction to protect ‘the bats and the newts’.
She insisted support for the runway would support the economy across the country and showed the Government’s ‘seriousness’.
Official figures have shown little or no economic growth since Labour took office in July, with Ms Reeves’ Budget imposing national insurance hikes on businesses, hitting confidence and potentially costing 50,000 jobs.
But Ms Reeves tried to give an upbeat assessment of the UK’s prospects, arguing that the Government had ‘begun to turn things around’.
‘We have fundamental strengths in our history, in our language and in our legal system to compete in a global economy, but for too long that potential has been held back.
‘For too long we have accepted low expectations and accepted decline,’ she said.
‘We no longer have to do that. We can do so much better.
‘Low growth is not our destiny, but growth will not come without a fight, without a government willing to take the right decisions now to change our country’s future for the better.’
She highlighted the long-delayed Heathrow expansion project as an indication of the problems that had beset the UK economy.
‘For international investors, persistent delays have cast doubt about our seriousness towards improving our economic prospects,’ she said.
She later said she wanted ‘spades in the ground’ on new projects announced today during this Parliament.
‘We want that to happen in this Parliament. I want spades in the ground, I want people to see in their areas things happening, growth happening,’ she told BBC News.
London Mayor Sir Sadiq said he remains opposed to Heathrow expansion because of its impact on noise, air pollution and meeting the UK’s climate change targets.
He said the last plans for a third runway at Heathrow involved building a tunnel under the M25 motorway and bulldozing a village.
‘I will as the Mayor of this great city, as a pro-business Mayor, somebody who takes tackling the climate emergency seriously, but also thinks a green transition is one of the greatest opportunities we have this century, I’ll use any tool in the toolkit to stop a third runway happening,’ he told Andrew Marr on LBC.
The Chancellor was asked last night what her message to Sir Sadiq and others opposing Heathrow expansion would be.
She said: ‘Look, the answer to new infrastructure can’t always be no.
‘That’s what happened under the last government.
‘And nothing got built and nothing got done and living standards deteriorated.
‘So, it does mean having to take on people who are against new developments, whether it is wind farms, airports or new rail lines.
‘And the problem is, is if you always give in and say, ‘Oh, okay, there some objections to this’, we’ll end up in a situation where the economy continues to stagnate, living standards decline, and will be no further forward than we are now.’
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary described Heathrow expansion as a ‘dead cat’, saying it would not happen before the 2040s at the earliest and would not bring any growth.
He urged the Chancellor to instead scrap air passenger duty (APD) during a press conference.
Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, said the hurdles ahead of a third runway were ‘very significant’ and cast doubt on Ms Reeves’ plans for sustainable aviation.
‘Sustainable fuel is a real thing, but we need it in significantly greater volumes than are available today … So mandating airlines to use a fuel source that doesn’t exist today doesn’t make an awful lot of sense,’ he told LBC.
Speaking about the impact on flight prices, travel expert Nicky Kelvin from The Points Guy told : ‘Under the current model, the huge additional cost of building an extra runway will likely mean higher prices for passengers as airlines could end up paying more to operate out of Heathrow.
‘This may be countered by the additional competition that would be injected in the airport by the extra slots, additional airlines and routes that might start flying in a when capacity is significantly increased.’
Confirmation of support for Heathrow was one of a series of measures outlined by Ms Reeves, including:
– Plans for the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, which she said could become ‘Europe’s Silicon Valley’ and add £78 billion to the UK’s economy by 2035.
– New reservoirs will be built near Abingdon in Oxfordshire and in the Fens near Cambridge. They will be among nine new reservoirs built as the Government has agreed for water companies to invest £7.9 billion to improve infrastructure.
– Funding for the East-West rail link joining Oxford, Cambridge and towns like Bedford and Milton Keynes that sit between them will be confirmed, as well as upgrades to the A428 road.
– A new Cambridge cancer research hospital will be prioritised as part of the new hospitals programme.
– Oxford will get a growth commission, similar to one set up in Cambridge, aimed at helping the city and surrounding region to grow its economy.
– The Government will back the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport as South Yorkshire Airport City.
– A £65 million investment by the National Wealth Fund in expanding electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
– Government guidance on appraising major projects will be reviewed in order to support investments outside of the wealthy and productive South East of England.
– The Trade Secretary will travel to India to restart negotiations on a free trade agreement with the country.