Reeves rejects Heathrow expansion critics, saying answer ‘cannot always be no’
Reeves rejects Heathrow expansion critics, saying answer ‘cannot always be no’
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Rachel Reeves has rejected criticism of the Government’s support to expand Heathrow Airport after she set out plans to remove barriers to growth in the hope of kickstarting the UK’s stuttering economy. The Chancellor said the economy will stagnate if you “always give in” to objections and that the answer to new infrastructure “can’t always be no” as Labour Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said he would seek to halt a third runway going ahead.
Her support for Heathrow will see her face down Labour critics and environmental campaigners, and figures from the aviation industry have voiced scepticism about the plans. Ms Reeves said in a speech at a medical equipment firm in Oxfordshire that she was prepared to “fight” for new housing, infrastructure and business projects, including tearing up environmental regulations which hamper construction to protect “the bats and the newts”.
She insisted support for the runway would support the economy across the country and showed the Government’s “seriousness”. Official figures have shown little or no economic growth since Labour took office in July, with Ms Reeves’ Budget imposing national insurance hikes on businesses, hitting confidence and potentially costing 50,000 jobs.
But Ms Reeves gave a notably upbeat assessment of the UK’s economic prospects in her speech, saying the Government had “begun to turn things around”. “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.
