As was widely expected, the Government has backed plans to expand Heathrow. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the decision to approve a third runway is ‘truly momentous’. In a statement released moments ago, he said:
‘I am proud that after years of discussion and delay this government is taking decisive action to secure the UK’s place in the global aviation market – securing jobs and business opportunities for the next decade and beyond.’
This morning’s news isn’t much of a surprise, with the Prime Minister signalling last week that she favoured choosing Heathrow over Gatwick, in a decision that matches the Airport Commission’s recommendation.
So what happens now? Despite Grayling suggesting today marks an end to the ‘years of discussion and delay’, we can expect more discussion and delay. Ministers who have previously spoken out against expanding Heathrow will be granted a ‘set period’ of time to continue to voice their opposition. Boris Johnson, who vowed to lie down ‘in front of those bulldozers’ at Heathrow after being elected MP for Uxbridge last year, is already doing as much. When he was asked in Downing Street this morning whether he would continue to oppose expansion at Heathrow, he said: ‘Yes’.
Boris’s Cabinet colleague Justine Greening is also strongly opposed to the plans. She said today that ‘along with many people in my local community, I am extremely disappointed with the decision to push ahead with a third runway at Heathrow’. While on the backbenches, trouble is brewing for the Government: as many as 60 Tory MPs are reportedly planning to revolt over the plans. And Zac Goldsmith has said he would stand down from his seat and trigger a by-election if expanding Heathrow was given the go-ahead. In the Commons, he had this to say:
The Government has an unlikely ally in Parliament, though, in the form of the SNP. The party, which is also backing Heathrow, has 54 MPs – which could help cancel out any rebellion on the Government’s own benches.
Of course, it’s not only in Parliament that Theresa May is set to face opposition. Her local council in Maidenhead has built up a war chest to fight the decision. May herself, before she became PM, was also one of those who spoke out against the expansion of Heathrow, saying that a Government that approved a third runway could never be ‘taken seriously on the environment again’. That point could well be the crux of another legal challenge which Greenpeace has said it will mount in the courts.
So those hoping the delays are a thing of the past, are likely to be sorely disappointed. At the earliest, Theresa May has signalled that the final decision won’t be debated in Parliament until this time next year. Downing Street has defended not starting building work straight away, saying a consultation was always a part of the plan. The previous transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said as much in front of a Commons select committee earlier this year. Yet even if Parliament does go on to back expansion at Heathrow in 2017, it could then be another year before planning approval is granted and building work finally gets underway. Expect the first planes to take off from Heathrow’s new runway by 2025, if – and it’s a big if – all goes to plan. But the history of this long-running saga suggests that that timeline looks optimistic at best.
Comments