Cabinet ministers press Burnham to back Heathrow third runway
Senior ministers are pressing Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to support the third runway at Heathrow, with the Chancellor arguing expansion can drive growth and Defence Secretary John Healey warning that delays are holding back London's economy.
Cabinet ministers are piling pressure on Andy Burnham to back the expansion of Heathrow Airport, with the Chancellor arguing that a third runway can drive economic growth and Defence Secretary John Healey voicing frustration at the delays. The dispute has put the mayor's reluctance to endorse the scheme at the centre of a debate within the government's own ranks.
According to reporting on the row, Burnham has refused to back the third runway. The government, for its part, says it is fully behind the project. The contrast between the official line and the position attributed to Burnham is the core of the disagreement, and the reported pressure from ministers suggests the issue is far from settled.
Healey has expressed frustration at how long the project has taken to move forward. He argues that the delay is stalling economic growth in London, and he has described the scheme as slow to get started. His comments underline a sense of impatience within parts of the Cabinet about the pace of progress on the runway, which has been slow to get going despite the government's stated support.
The Chancellor has taken a similar line, saying that expansion at Heathrow, London's main hub airport, can help drive growth. Her position frames the third runway not only as a transport question but as an economic one, tied to the capital's wider prospects and to the country's competitiveness as a destination for trade and travel. Supporters of the scheme view the hub's capacity as central to maintaining London's position in international aviation.
The dispute centres on the third runway plans for Heathrow, a project that has long been contentious. Because Burnham's objections have been reported as a refusal rather than a delay, the argument has shifted from the merits of the runway itself to whether a senior figure outside the central government will lend his weight to it. That makes his stance an unusual point of friction for a government that says it is united behind the plan.
What remains uncertain is whether Burnham's position will shift in response to the pressure, and when any construction could begin. Neither question has been resolved in the reporting so far. Without a confirmed start date, the scheme's supporters cannot point to firm milestones, and critics have no fixed timetable against which to measure progress.
For the government, the episode highlights the difficulty of reconciling a national growth agenda with the concerns of local and regional leaders. Ministers are seeking to present a united front on the runway, but the public reluctance of a figure such as Burnham has exposed divisions that expansion continues to provoke. How the argument develops in the coming weeks will indicate whether the government can secure the broad backing it says the project needs to move from political argument to delivery.
Source: dailymail.com
25
