Andy Burnham He appears to have made another U-turn after his Chancellor promised to maintain government support Heathrow‘s third runway project.
John Healey confirmed this to the House of Commons today Work supports the project despite the change of prime minister.
But it could raise eyebrows given Burnham’s previous attacks on the plan dating back years.
In January last year, the then mayor of Manchester branded it a ‘model for continued overheating’ British economy‘.
Former chancellor in June Rachel Reeves Said she was determined to “get shovels in the ground” for the third runway in the current parliament, and have it built by 2035.
And today her successor told MPs: ‘After years of delays, years of indecision, years of often difficult challenges, we have given the green light to this project simply because the economic situation is building up and will help deliver growth.’
John Healey today confirmed to the House of Commons that Labor supports the project, despite the change of Prime Minister.
But it could raise eyebrows given Burnham’s previous attacks on the plan dating back years.
In January last year, the then mayor of Manchester branded the country a ‘model for an increasingly overheated British economy’
Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) is seeking permission to build a full-length 3,500-metre runway, which will require relocating the M25 motorway.
Plans to expand Britain’s largest airport, which the government previously described as “critical to national growth”, have long been opposed by climate experts and the mayor of London, Lord Khan of Tooting.
Mr Burnham has also been against it for almost a decade. In 2018 he said: ‘I am against a third runway at Heathrow because of the need to limit national aviation levels.
‘Instead we need to use spare capacity in Manchester and Birmingham.’
The following year he warned that the expansion would ‘lock infrastructure spending within the M25 for a decade’ at the expense of the north.
Last year, when warning of the overheating of the economy, he added: ‘I would ask the government to take a moment to think about this, to talk to northern MPs, to the mayors of the north, and come up with a plan that, if it goes ahead, we can demonstrate that it doesn’t come at the expense of vital investment in northern infrastructure.’
In 2018, Mr Burnham said: ‘I oppose a third runway at Heathrow due to the need to limit national aviation levels’
After Istanbul overtook Heathrow as Europe’s busiest airport in July, the West London airport argued that ‘the case for expansion has never been clearer’.
The airport said it is “operating at maximum capacity” and that the expansion plans “will ensure the country has the infrastructure it needs to remain competitive and deliver critically important economic growth.”
The plan is expected to be entirely privately funded and is estimated to cost £33 billion, including £1.5 billion to move the M25 to build the runway.
This would increase Heathrow’s capacity to 756,000 flights and 150 million passengers per year.
