Huge row erupts within Labour over third Heathrow runway as Rachel Reeves blasts Sadiq Khan for ‘always saying no’
RACHEL Reeves today clashed with Sir Sadiq Khan over Heathrow Airport as she declared that growth “trumps other things”.
The Chancellor stared down eco zealots and the London Mayor as she vowed to push ahead with making “pro-growth decisions in the national interest”.
Ms Reeves is expected to formally confirm the expansion of Heathrow, as well as Gatwick and Luton airports, at a major speech on growth next week.
At the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland this morning she said: “The answer can’t always be ‘no’ and that’s been the problem in Britain for a long time.
“When there was a choice between something that would grow the economy and anything else, anything else always won.
“Now, of course, there are other things that matter, but when we say that growth is the number one mission of this Government, we mean it, and that means it trumps other things.
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“And so we’re making pro-growth decisions in the national interest.”
A Labour civil war erupted this week as Ms Reeves’ mission to expand aviation opportunities were revealed.
Sir Sadiq threatened to lodge a legal challenge against the expansions, while Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the move would trap investment in the South of the country.
Energy Secretary Ed Milliband is understood to be opposed to increasing air traffic because of its impact on Net Zero.
He and seven other cabinet ministers, including Sir Keir Starmer, have previously voted against it.
But more than 100 back-benchers who are members of the Labour Growth Group have supported the plan, calling it an “important project” to “unlock investment”.
Labour MP Chris Curtis said: “In an increasingly interconnected world having greater airport capacity is really important.
“Heathrow’s expansion is an important part of a range of projects the Government can back to unlock growth and investment in this country.”
EasyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis welcomed the news, commenting: “We’ve always said that aviation, the industry, is an enabler of economic growth.
“When it comes to Heathrow, I’ve always thought Heathrow would fit our network of primary airports with great catchment areas.
“It would be a unique opportunity to operate from Heathrow at scale – because obviously right now it’s slot-constrained – and give us an opportunity to provide lower fares for UK consumers that currently at Heathrow just have the option of flag carriers.
“It fits with our network, we’re present at all the other major European airports like Schiphol, Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Geneva.”
It came as government borrowing last month hit its highest rate in four years, according to new Office for National Statistics figures.
The gap between spending and tax revenue reached £17.8bn, £10.1bn more than in December 2023.
At Davos Tory Chancellor George Osborne accused Ms Reeves of having not yet “articulated a clear plan for growth”.
He said: “If you don’t have businesses investing then you don’t have the finances through your tax receipts to pay for the NHS.
“In the Budget there was not enough of using the proceeds of additional taxes on businesses to invest in roads and science and the like.
“It was all put into public services and as a result the business community was rather disappointed.”