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Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that the pursuit of growth “trumps” the government’s net zero commitments, as she prepares to signal her support for airport expansion in the London region, including at Heathrow.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Reeves said: “When we say that growth is the number one mission of this government, we mean it. That means it trumps other things.”
Reeves is expected to signal in a speech next week that the government favours the expansion of Gatwick and Luton airports, whilst reaffirming her support for a third runway at Heathrow.
Heathrow expansion was previously opposed by Sir Keir Starmer and several senior Labour figures, and the issue is likely to cause a split in the cabinet.
A decision on whether to endorse the proposal would force the government to choose between its stated aims of backing “growth” and reducing the UK’s carbon emissions.
Some Whitehall officials believe Reeves, a supporter of Heathrow expansion, is attempting to bounce Starmer into publicly endorsing a third runway. “That’s not my assessment,” said one ally of the prime minister.
Starmer, asked about the issue in the House of Commons on Wednesday, refused to comment on “speculation”, adding: “We as a government are committed to growth. We’re committed to the aviation sector and to our climate obligations.”
In theory, Reeves reiterating her support for Heathrow’s third runway could be the political signal the airport’s management needs before deciding whether or not to push ahead with proposals later this year.
In the last House of Commons vote on a third runway at Heathrow in 2018, seven members of the current cabinet voted against it, including Starmer. The others were Ed Miliband, Steve Reed, Lisa Nandy, Darren Jones, Anneliese Dodds and Hilary Benn.
But Heathrow management has been reluctant to revive the scheme without clear political backing. Miliband, who is now climate change secretary, threatened to resign over the issue during Gordon Brown’s government, while London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan is also still opposed.
A spokesperson for Khan this week said: “The mayor has a long-standing opposition to airport expansion around London — linked to the negative impact on air quality, noise and London’s ability to reach net zero by 2030.”
Critics argue that a huge expansion in flying is incompatible with the UK’s legally binding target to reach net zero carbon emissions, since aviation is one of the most difficult industries to decarbonise — despite growing hopes for using “sustainable aviation fuel”.
Downing Street said this week that it still required a third runway at Heathrow to meet its four tests on carbon emissions, noise, air quality and growth. The issues of local noise and air pollution are considered by experts to be the hardest to meet on the congested west London site.
