LIFT OFF
Heathrow expansion finally gets green light from Cabinet after decades of delays
THERESA MAY on Tuesday took on Tory rebels and vowed to build a third runway at Heathrow after eight years of party dithering.
The PM stared down Boris Johnson and backed the much delayed £14 billion expansion of Britain’s biggest airport – saying it would be a shot in the arm as the country leaves the EU.
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It came as Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced the Government’s support for the much delayed project in the Commons following a Cabinet meeting in No.10.
Tory MPs will be ordered to vote in favour of plans next month – in the hope a third runway will finally be ready by 2026.
Mrs May – who branded the expansion plans “devastating” a decade ago – last night said: “Today’s decision to support Heathrow expansion demonstrates this Government’s commitment to deliver the jobs and major infrastructure that this country needs to thrive.
UK HUBS NOSEDIVE
BRITAIN’S airports are among the worst performing in the world, a report suggests.
Stansted is ranked the second worst, while Gatwick, Manchester and Edinburgh are placed in the bottom 20 of 141 international hubs.
Heathrow did best but was still mid-division at 81, according to the rankings from flight compensation company AirHelp.
Low-cost carriers easyJet and Ryanair were also in the bottom six in its airline ratings.
But Stansted said: “This latest survey is purely a self-serving exercise based on very little or no substantive evidence.”
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No.10 confirmed on Tuesday that Boris Johnson and other Ministers opposed to the plans would be gagged from criticising the decision nationally and would have to apply to the PM for permission to speak out locally.
The Foreign Secretary is expected to be out of the country when the vote takes place – as revealed by the Sun yesterday.
Speaking in the Commons Mr Grayling said the “time for action is now” and insisted the new runway would double the rammed airport’s current annual passenger capacity, creating thousands of jobs and boost the economy.
Local residents will receive up to £2.6 billion in compensation.
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And Mr Grayling insisted planning permission will only be granted if Heathrow can meet new air quality obligations.
Business leaders welcomed the move after a decade of indecision.
David Cameron in opposition in 2009 planted an apple tree to mark his opposition to a third runway. As Transport Secretary Philip Hammond in 2010 said the project was as “dead as a Norwegian parrot”.
As PM, Mr Cameron vowed to make up his mind on Heathrow by the end of 2015, before delaying it until after the London Mayoral Elections and then the EU Referendum.
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Ex-Tory Minister Justine Greening and backbencher Zac Goldsmith – who both represent London constituencies - have slammed the Government. Ms Greening said it was the “wrong decision” – adding: “I’ve always been clear I can’t support this proposal going through Parliament.”
Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell vowed to oppose the expansion but the Labour head of the cross-party Transport Select Committee Louise Ellman gave it her wholehearted backing.
Why is expanding Heathrow so controversial and what happens now?
THE expansion of airports in Britain has been a bitter issue in politics for years.
Plans to do so have been on the cards for decades, with politicians repeatedly putting off making the decisions.
Several high-profile MPs - including cabinet ministers like Boris Johnson - are opposed to it because they claim it will negatively impact their own areas, with added noise and pollution for locals.
The alternative choice in London, Gatwick, argues that it would be better placed to bring in more economic boom for Britain, and could be less damaging to the environment.
Airports outside of London argue they want to be able to expand to get more business in and spread across the regions.
Heathrow is at 98 per cent capacity and Gatwick is expected to run out of space in a few years, which means that London will struggle to keep up with other European airports.
Timeline of the airport expansion row and what's next:
- 1970s: Airport Commission's first proposal for a new airport in the North East of London was thrown out by ministers
- 2003: Labour publish White paper on third runway at Heathrow
- 2007: Public consultation firmly backs Heathrow expansion plans
- 2009: Third runway approved by Labour
- 2010: Coalition rules out third runway after taking over
- 2012: Airports Comission asked to review other options in the South East
- 2014: Boris Johnson's plans for a hub airport in the Thames Estuary were thrown out by the Airports Commission
- 2015: Commission backs third runway at Heathrow but Government delays making decision
- October 2016: the Government backs its preferred option of expanding Heathrow
- Zac Goldsmith resigns over the issue and fights a by-election, only to lose his seat
- 2017: Two consultations into the plans take place, where thousands have their say
- Today: Chris Grayling gets a Heathrow third runway plan passed by government
- Next 21 days: MPs will get a vote on whether or not to approve the plans
- Heathrow develops detailed plans to meet air quality targets and iron out other details
- 2026: If the plans get passed by MPs and all goes smoothly, a new runway could be on the cards
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The SNP’s Alan Brown indicated the expansion would have the full support of the Scottish Nationalists but demanded reassurances about more connections for Scottish airports.
He said: “All but one of the Scottish airport operators support this.
“So do the various Scottish chambers of commerce, because they recognise the business benefits that it can bring to Scotland, including up to 16,000 jobs.”
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