When Labour announced this week that it would back the expansion of London City airport against the wishes of local party members, the decision reverberated far beyond east London.
By riding roughshod over Newham council’s bid to block thousands of additional flights, Labour put down a marker in the first significant test of its stance on controversial infrastructure projects likely to boost GDP but have a negative impact on the environment.
The decision to lift London City’s annual capacity by 2.5m passengers, or almost 40pc, gave substance to Labour’s pledge to make economic growth its key policy driver.
In doing so, it also bolstered the view that the party leadership may be willing to lock horns with its own MPs when it comes to one of Britain’s fiercest infrastructure debates – that is the construction of new runways at Heathrow and Gatwick.
The London City announcement came after Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in the run-up to the general election that Labour had “nothing against expanding airport capacity”.
This was followed by a further statement from Sir Keir Starmer’s office on July 22, which said it “is not opposed in principle to new or longer runways or to people flying more”, while also hailing aviation as a “huge contributor to the economy”.
Labour MPs representing constituencies close to Heathrow told The Telegraph they’re hoping the London City decision was a one-off, while reiterating their opposition to the revival of a £14bn scheme to expand Britain’s largest airport.
Ruth Cadbury, MP for Brentford and Isleworth and a longstanding opponent of Heathrow’s long-running pursuit of a third runway, said she’d oppose even measures to ease restrictions on flights from its existing runways.
She says: “The Government has set some firm rules on the impact on noise, pollution and climate, and there is no way that a third runway could ever comply with those.
“I’m more immediately concerned with any attempt to lift the annual cap on movements or to add more night flights, the vast bulk of which come in directly over our capital city.”
John McDonnell MP, whose Hayes and Harlington constituency includes Heathrow, says any bid to resurrect the third runway proposals would be met with “huge resistance”.
The former shadow chancellor, who was expelled from Labour for six months in July after voting to scrap the two child benefit cap, says: “Heathrow will become the iconic battleground of the campaign, not just in the UK but across Europe, to prevent climate catastrophe.”
McDonnell sponsored an early-day motion last month that condemned any third runway at Heathrow as detrimental to local communities and incompatible with net zero targets
Fleur Anderson, Labour member for Putney – which sits under the Heathrow flightpath – last year led a parliamentary debate in which she said a third runway would subject Londoners to unacceptable levels of noise and air pollution, presenting a “serious health issue”.
The Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (Hacan) says it is concerned that Labour’s decision to allow the expansion of London City, while retaining a weekend curfew, could influence its approach going forward.
Hacan chairman John Stewart says: “I’m wondering if there are the beginnings of a blueprint here. I’m not sure Labour have really thought through airports and this might shape their thinking.”
Parliament approved construction of a third runway in 2018, only for the Court of Appeal to rule that a government decision to permit the expansion failed to address requirements related to climate change.
That ruling was later overturned in the Supreme Court, paving the way for Heathrow to press ahead with its plans. However, with the world in the grip of Covid, the airport suggested that it might not require a third runway for another 10 or 15 years.
A swift rebound in demand led the airport to change its tune, however, and chief executive Thomas Woldbye said last month that he was preparing fresh proposals for the third runway and “looking forward to working with ministers to ensure we are firing on all cylinders”.
The airport attracted 82.2m passengers in the 12 months through July, surpassing its record annual tally, set in 2019, by 1.3m.
Heathrow said that while its focus is on optimising existing infrastructure to add capacity, a third runway is strategically important and critical for the UK’s economic success.
A spokesman said: “We are currently looking at how best we can take the project forward. We’re reviewing our plans internally and will make a public decision in due course. Given the significance of the project, it’s important we take our time to get it right.”
Meanwhile, Gatwick, one of the world’s two busiest single-runway airports, is moving ahead with its bid to turn a strip currently used as a taxiway into a fully-fledged runway.
A six-month public examination of the plan ends next week, with the Government expected to make a decision early in 2025. Construction could start later in the year and the new runway would be ready for use by the end of the decade.
A spokesman said the plan would lift annual capacity to 75m passengers by the end of the 2030s, from less than 50m now, generating 14,000 jobs and providing a £1bn annual boost to the economy.
Labour has said any airport expansion plans must meet conditions regarding air and noise pollution and carbon emissions in order to make the grade, as well as delivering countrywide economic growth.
Stewart at Hacan said these so-called four tests are too nebulous to count for much, adding that they “can be interpreted in whatever way Labour wants to interpret them”.
He added: “Noise is the big issue. I think Heathrow can probably convince the Government on climate. But measures to deal with noise would need to be gold plated.”
The stance of senior Labour figures is likely to be a key factor in the party’s thinking.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been open in his opposition to expanding Heathrow, while Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, another long-term critic of a third runway, is seen as a figure around whom opposition might coalesce.
Should Labour forge ahead with airport expansion to embolden its bid for growth, then a revolt from the front and backbenches may be inevitable.
A Department for Transport spokesman said the Government is committed to securing the long-term future of aviation in the UK, while fulfilling its environmental obligations.
Miliband declined to comment.
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