Growth, growth, growth is back on Rachel Reeves’ agenda – having been conspicuously absent in her first Budget last October. Still, no matter, the Chancellor now insists she is storming ahead with pro-business plans. Speaking at Davos – where else? – Reeves heavily hinted this morning that she will next week back a third runway at Heathrow when she makes her big speech talking about all the wonderful things the government will do for growth.
The news has got a big thumbs up from industry – but Labour MPs are less enthused. Some, like Ruth Cadbury, cite local opposition; others such as Clive Lewis worry about the environment. No less than eight of the current cabinet voted against the Heathrow third runway last time it came up for a vote in 2018 – including the Prime Minister. Among Keir Starmer’s old tweets is one from early 2020 when a legal challenge stopped Heathrow expansion. ‘Congratulations to the climate campaigners’, he wrote. ‘There is no more important challnge than the climate emergency. That is why I voted against Heathrow expansion.’ So much for ‘blockers’ versus ‘builders’ eh…
And Starmer wasn’t even the most anti-Heathrow campaigner in the current cabinet. That gong goes to Ed Miliband, the Net Zero Secretary, who threatened to resign from Gordon Brown’s then government over plans for a new runway at Heathrow. Ahead of the vote in 2018, he issued a statement on social media saying the proposal was ‘very likely’ to make air pollution worse and the then Tory government had made ‘no serious attempt to square its climate change commitments with its support for the third runway at Heathrow.’
So, does that still remain the case? Reporters caught up with Miliband at Davos today. Will he resign if Heathrow goes ahead, given it could bust his climate plans? ‘Don’t be ridiculous, no’ is what he told a PA hack. So much for principle Ed…
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