Chancellor backs Heathrow third runway as she lays out plans for growth
Chancellor backs Heathrow third runway as she lays out plans for growth
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The Government will back a third runway at Heathrow Airport as it looks to go “further and faster” on growth, the Chancellor has announced. In a wide-ranging speech on her measures to boost Britain’s flagging economy, Rachel Reeves said the case for a third runway was “stronger than ever”.
She said: “We cannot duck the decision any longer. I have always been clear that a third runway at Heathrow would unlock growth, boost investment, increase exports and make the UK more open and more connected.”. But the announcement will prove controversial, with green campaigners such as Labour donor Dale Vince arguing that the third runway would undermine the UK’s climate change commitments while providing “the illusion of growth”.
In her speech in Oxfordshire on Wednesday, Ms Reeves insisted that the Government would “ensure that a third runway is delivered in line with our legal, environmental and climate objectives”. The Government has asked for proposals on the third runway to be brought forward by the summer, after which the plan will face further hurdles before work can begin.
The Heathrow announcement capped a speech in which the Chancellor sought to strike a more optimistic note than at the start of her term, saying the Government had “begun to turn things around” and announcing a slew of other infrastructure projects.
She said: “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.
