Rachel Reeves has said she wants to see “spades in the ground” at Heathrow Airport in the next five years.
The chancellor confirmed her and the government’s backing for a third runway at Heathrow in a major speech on Wednesday. “I am not satisfied with the position that we are in”, Reeves told reporters.
“I can confirm today that this government supports a third runway at Heathrow and is inviting proposals to be brought forward by the summer”, she added.
“[The government] will ensure that a third runway is delivered in line with our legal, environmental and climate objectives.”
Questioned on Thursday morning, the chancellor revealed Heathrow has been asked to come up with plans by the summer.
She told BBC Breakfast: “We want to see spades in the ground in this parliament.
“We have asked Heathrow to come forward with plans by this summer, and then we want to grant that development consent order by the end of this parliament, so we can get the diggers in the ground to get this project up and running.
“And that’s why we’re reforming the planning system to make it easier to get these sorts of projects, like the third runway at Heathrow built.”
The chancellor went on to say she is “absolutely confident” that the government can build a third runway and meet its environmental targets.
“We’ve been clear with Heathrow: We want them to bring forward plans by the summer that are consistent with those environmental and carbon targets. But the answer to new infrastructure can’t always be no.”
Reeves also insisted that Heathrow’s third runway could be built and in use by 2035. Pressed when flights would take off from the airport, the chancellor told BBC Breakfast: “I think we can get that done in a decade.”
Asked if that meant planes would be using the new runway by 2035, Reeves responded: “That is what we want to achieve and that is what Heathrow wants to achieve.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
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Rachel Reeves backs ‘badly needed’ third Heathrow Airport runway
Source: Politics