John Healey made the case for adding a third runway at Heathrow on economic-growth grounds, while the prime minister did not back the proposal. Support for the repeatedly deferred airport runway expansion occupied a prominent place in Rachel Reeves's work as chancellor, with Reeves drawing on a formal speech about economic growth to set out her view that the infrastructure would make Britain one of the more accessible destinations for global trade.
Since taking up residence at No 10 in July, Andy Burnham has kept his position on the runway question largely unspoken, putting forward the view that the matter belongs to London and its residents to decide. Broadcasters drew attention to a private conversation between the prime minister and transport secretary Heidi Alexander, with the premier said to have voiced reservations about the justification put forward for the large-scale infrastructure scheme.
Healey, responding to questions put to him during his time in Bangkok, told reporters the government intended to review the submissions gathered through a public consultation process that had recently concluded. Taking a notably different stance from Burnham, he told reporters that airports such as Heathrow had, over recent decades, played a meaningful role in driving employment and economic growth across the UK. He added that the push to expand Heathrow with a third runway had, from the outset, been driven by arguments rooted in economic expansion.
Economic growth stands as the foremost priority for both Healey and Burnham within their administration, the former has maintained.
Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye put the airport's ownership consortium on notice during conversations with journalists earlier that week, stating that the pace at which the £33bn expansion was advancing had begun to test the patience of its backers — and that continued prime ministerial support would bear directly on whether those backers, a group that includes Qatar's sovereign wealth authority, France's Ardian, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and Singapore's GIC, maintained their financial commitment to the project. A decision on whether to submit a formal planning application is anticipated within the next few months.
When the third runway came to a vote in the House of Commons in 2018, Healey cast his ballot in support of the proposal.
Having attended the International Monetary Fund's annual meetings in Bangkok, the chancellor flew back to London, where work on the 28 October budget is now in its concluding phase. The IMF extended positive assessments to the UK this week over steps taken to reduce its fiscal deficit, a path that several other large economies have not yet pursued. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva called on Healey to hold to his existing budget plans.
Government data released on Thursday pointed to the UK economy posting a further expansion in August, a result that had not been widely anticipated.
