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Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said continued growth ‘trumps’ the Government’s commitments to net zero emissions, as she prepares to signal support for the expansion of London area airport, including Heathrow.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Reeves said: “When we say that growth is the number one mission of this government, we mean it. That means it trumps other things.
Reeves is expected to signal in a speech next week that the government supports the expansion of Gatwick and Luton airports, while reaffirming its support for a third landing strip at Heathrow.
Heathrow expansion had already been opposed by Sir Keir Starmer and several senior Labor figures, and the issue is likely to cause a split within the cabinet.
A decision on whether to approve the proposal would force the government to choose between its stated aims of supporting “growth” and reducing the UK’s carbon emissions.
Some Whitehall officials believe Reeves, a supporter of Heathrow expansion, is trying to convince Starmer to publicly endorse a third runway. “That’s not my assessment,” said an ally of the prime minister.
Starmer, when asked about the issue in the House of Commons on Wednesday, refused to comment on the “speculation”, adding: “As a government we are committed to growth. We are committed to the aviation sector and to our climate obligations.
In theory, Reeves reiterating his support for Heathrow’s third runway could be the political signal airport management needs before deciding whether to move forward with more proposals. late this year.
In the last House of Commons vote on a third runway at Heathrow in 2018, seven members of the current cabinet voted against it, including Starmer. The others were Ed Miliband, Steve Reed, Lisa Nandy, Darren Jones, Anneliese Dodds and Hilary Benn.
But Heathrow management has been reluctant to restart the project without clear political backing. Miliband, who is now climate change secretary, threatened to resign over the issue under Gordon Brown’s government, while London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan still opposes it.
A spokesperson for Khan said this week: “The mayor has long opposed airport expansion around London – linked to the negative impact on air quality, noise and capacity of London to achieve net zero emissions by 2030.”
Critics argue that a massive expansion of air travel is incompatible with the UK’s legally binding target of achieving net zero carbon emissions, as aviation is one of the hardest industries to decarbonise – despite growing hopes of using “sustainable aviation fuel”.
Downing Street said this week it still needs a third runway at Heathrow to meet its four tests on carbon emissions, noise, air quality and growth. The problems of local noise and air pollution are seen by experts as the most difficult to tackle at the congested west London site.