Healey makes pro-growth case for Heathrow third runway as Burnham withholds backing

Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey has made a pro-growth case for a third runway at Heathrow, diverging from Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has declined to back the project. The Guardian

Healey said the case for a third runway has always been a case for growth. He said Heathrow and airports across the United Kingdom have been a big part of jobs and growth in recent decades, and described economic growth as his and Burnham's "number one mission" in government.

Burnham has suggested the decision should be "a matter for London and Londoners". He arrived in No 10 as prime minister in July. Healey's predecessor as chancellor, Rachel Reeves, had put approval of the third runway at the heart of her "growth speech" last year, and Healey voted in favour of the runway in the 2018 House of Commons vote.

Healey said the government would study responses to the recently closed public consultation on the project. Heathrow's owners are expected to decide in the coming months whether to apply for formal planning permission, the legal approval needed before construction can proceed.

Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye has warned investors could reassess backing for the £33bn project without the prime minister's support. Heathrow's owners include Qatar's investment authority, Ardian, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Singapore's GIC. Woldbye said if its owners could not invest in a third runway, the money "will be invested somewhere else in the world". BBC

The context around the proposal remains contested. Heathrow claims its new runway will create 100,000 jobs, while Reeves claimed as chancellor that it would add 0.43% to GDP. Fewer than 15% of air travellers say they are travelling on business. Airport bosses have told ministers the runway will not now be operational until 2039. The Guardian