Londoners support Heathrow expansion, poll shows, as Government faces row with Sadiq Khan over third runway
Londoners support Heathrow expansion, poll shows, as Government faces row with Sadiq Khan over third runway
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Londoners strongly support Heathrow building a third runway, a poll has shown, as the Government faces a row with Sadiq Khan over the plan. More than half of people in the capital (56%) surveyed said they were in favour of the expansion, which Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Wednesday announced the Government would back.
Just 25% of Londoners surveyed opposed the scheme, while 19% were undecided. There is also more support in the city compared to the rest of the country, where just 46% of people said they back the expansion and 23% oppose it, the survey showed. Luke Tryl, director of research group More in Common, that carried out the polling, said: “Research shows the British public firmly back Heathrow's third runway - with support outstripping opposition by two to one.
“Notably, we see stronger support among Londoners than those in the rest of the country. “With opposition falling since last year, it's clear the public increasingly see the growth case for expanding the UK’s hub airport and the chancellor's decision looks set to land on a receptive audience.”.
But the Government is expected to face a fight with Sir Sadiq who said the project would have a “severe impact on noise, air pollution and meeting our climate change targets”. The Mayor added: “Despite the progress that's been made in the aviation sector to make it more sustainable, I’m simply not convinced that you can have hundreds of thousands of additional flights at Heathrow every year without a hugely damaging impact on our environment.”.
