Britain27 September, 20262 min read
Andy Burnham Refuses To Back Heathrow Third Runway, Says Nearby Residents Must Be Heard
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Burnham declines to back Heathrow third runway. He says residents near Heathrow must be heard before he decides.
7 outlets told this the same way.
Burnham withholds backing
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham declined on Sunday to back plans for a third runway at Heathrow, saying people living near the airport should be heard first. Burnham told the BBC in an interview at the start of the governing Labour Party's annual conference, "I think, principally, it's a matter for London," and he added, "I think you've got to hear the voice of people there first." Heathrow said at the weekend that opening the third runway could be delayed by four years, leaving it inoperative until 2039, while the airport operates at 99% capacity.
Heathrow has two runways and compares them with four each at Paris' Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt Airport, and six at Amsterdam's Schiphol, with Heathrow 15 miles (24 km) west of London. The government led by Burnham's predecessor, former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, announced last year that it supported Heathrow's expansion proposal, which must go through a lengthy planning process before construction can begin.
Consultation and political pressure
Burnham refused to confirm whether he backs the Heathrow expansion in an interview marking the start of Labour Party conference in Liverpool, telling the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, "Principally, it’s a matter for London and Londoners." Burnham said, "It's not right for me to just jump straight in on the back of the consultation," and he added, "I think it’s right that we hear what people have said through the consultation, and then consider the way forward from there." Heathrow's expansion plan has been hit with years of delays, and the Evening Standard said the development would involve moving the M25 and would be the most expensive new runway project ever.
The Daily Mail framed the episode as a Labour dispute, saying Burnham fuelled fresh doubts about the Heathrow Airport expansion today just weeks after his Chancellor backed it. The London Evening Standard described Burnham being pressed multiple times on whether he would back the project, quoting his response that "It's a contested issue, isn't it?"
Jobs, net zero, and timing
Heathrow said its focus remained securing planning permission by 2029, and it expected the runway to be operational within a decade once permission is obtained, making 2039 the current core scenario. The expansion forms part of a £49 billion plan approved by the government, with about £15bn relating to upgrade work already planned and around £33bn covering the new runway, changes to London's orbital motorway and a new terminal. Heathrow's spokesperson said, "Heathrow expansion cannot be a choice between economic growth and net zero – it must deliver both," and the spokesperson added that the Climate Change Committee's assessment does not change this.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski called a third runway a "great betrayal" and said it is a "betrayal of climate commitments, betrayal of communities breathing polluted air, and betrayal of our children’s future." Residents have for decades complained about noise pollution, safety risks from flights over the densely populated city, and more recently about the impact of soaring carbon emissions.