Heathrow’s plans for a third runway are taxiing ready for take-off after the Labour government threw its weight behind the expansion.
The move has sparked a furious debate in Parliament, across London with Sir Sadiq Khan vowing to oppose it, and with environmentalists.
With Labour’s whopping Commons majority, the proposal will sail through Parliament.
Sir Keir Starmer was among a long list of the current government who objected to a third runway in 2018 when it was pushed through Parliament by the Tory government.
Objectors to Heathrow's third runway in 2018
Sir Keir Starmer (Prime Minister)
Ed Miliband (Net Zero Secretary)
Steve Reed (Environment Secretary)
Lisa Nandy (Culture Secretary)
Hilary Benn (Northern Ireland Secretary)
Darren Jones (Chief Secretary to the Treasury)
See the full list of MPs who voted against Heathrow expansion
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, MP for Leeds West, has previously opposed expansion of Leeds Bradford airport but now claims developments in sustainable aviation fuel have “changed things”.
“If plans came forward again at Leeds Bradford I would support expansion,” she says.
What’s clear is a number of Cabinet ministers are set to make screeching U-turns on previous opposition to airport expansion as the Government desperately seeks economic growth, its No1 priority.
Mr Miliband, who was a strong opponent of a third runway, has said he will not resign on the issue.
However, he has also stressed that the whole of Government, including the Chancellor, is committed to Labour’s net zero pledges, and to abiding by the rule of law, more than can be said for some previous administrations.
So, the whole third runway row is heading for the courts.
Ms Reeves has admitted the London Mayor, local councils or environmental groups could bring a judicial review challenging another runway.
She stresses the Supreme Court backed the Government’s airport strategy in 2020, ruling against environmentalists.
At the time, the top judges put significant weight on the views of the UK’s Climate Change Committee, the Government’s advisers on global warming.
The CCC is now emphasising “there should be no net airport expansion unless the carbon-intensity of aviation is outperforming the Government’s emissions reduction pathway and can accommodate the additional demand”.
Sir Sadiq has made clear he is not persuaded by Ms Reeves’ belief in sustainable aviation fuels being a “game changer”.
He also points out that hundreds of thousands more flights a year will blight the lives of more Londoners.
But this does not seem a factor that could stop expansion when weighed against the national economic benefits.
Air pollution around Heathrow, the battleground last time, also does not as by the time a third runway opens most people will be driving electric vehicles.
So, this time the courts showdown is set to be over climate change as the planet warms at alarming speed.
Sir Keir and Ms Reeves, fuelled by the dash for growth backed by business chiefs and which could fund better public services, may argue airport expansion is compatible with the UK’s legal 2050 net zero goal and carbon budgets.
The courts may, or may not, take a different view and that is where the fate of a third runway will be decided.
