British Prime Minister Rachel Reeves is preparing to voice support for airport expansion in the London area, including Heathrow, saying the pursuit of growth will “prioritize” the government’s net-zero commitments.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Prime Minister said growth was the UK government’s “first mission”.
Asked what he would do if he was forced to choose between economic growth and the UK’s 2050 net zero target, Mr Reeves said: “If that’s your primary mission then obviously that’s the most important.” .
Her comments came as the government considers supporting expansion plans for Luton and Gatwick airports, as well as deciding whether to sign off on a controversial third runway at Heathrow.
The potential expansion of Heathrow Airport threatens to divide the cabinet, forcing the government to choose between supporting growth and reducing Britain’s carbon emissions.
The Prime Minister said on Wednesday that the government had already approved the expansion of City and Stansted airports, which also serve the British capital, demonstrating “the government’s determination to make the UK an important trading nation”.
Speaking earlier at an event in Davos, Reeves said: That means it’s better than the rest. ”
He is expected to signal in a speech next week that the government supports expansion of Gatwick and Luton airports, while reaffirming his support for a third runway at Heathrow.
Expansion of Heathrow Airport had previously been opposed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and several Labor leaders.
Some Whitehall officials believe Mr Reeves is trying to push Mr Starmer into publicly supporting a third runway. “That’s not my assessment,” said one of the prime minister’s allies.
Asked about the issue in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Starmer refused to comment on “speculation”, adding: We are fully committed to aviation and our climate obligations. ”
Mr Reeves’ support for a third runway at Heathrow could be the political signal airport managers need before deciding whether to go ahead with the plan this year. Airport operators are reluctant to revive the plan unless there is clear political backing.
The chief executive of British Airways’ owner said on Wednesday he would not support expansion of Heathrow Airport unless the government changes the way landing fees are set.
International Airlines Group chief executive Luis Gallego said Heathrow’s regulatory model was “not fit for purpose”, pointing to the high landing fees the UK’s only hub charges airlines. said.
“The government has growth targets and we support them… but before we can talk about expanding or redeveloping Heathrow, the situation at Heathrow needs to change,” he told an industry event. He spoke at
Britain’s aviation regulator last year forced Heathrow Airport to reduce these fees slightly, to £23.73 per passenger in 2025, leaving both sides unsatisfied.
BA is by far the largest airline at Heathrow thanks to its historic rights to over 50 per cent of the airport’s landing slots. This has allowed the airline to build a highly profitable business, especially in transatlantic flights. Analysts believe Heathrow’s major expansion could hurt BA if competitors add more slots to the airport.
Mr Reeves said on Wednesday that there would be “collective ministerial agreement” to approve the Heathrow airport plan.
Seven current ministers, including Starmer, voted against the last House of Commons vote on Heathrow’s third runway in 2018. Others included Ed Miliband, Steve Reid, Lisa Nandy, Darren Jones, Anneliese Dodds and Hilary Benn.
Mr Miliband, the current climate change secretary, threatened to resign over the issue during Gordon Brown’s government, but London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan remains opposed.
A spokesman for Mr Khan said this week: “The Mayor has long opposed airport expansion around London, which is associated with negative impacts on air quality, noise and London’s ability to reach net zero by 2030. ” he said.
Given that aviation is one of the most difficult industries to decarbonise, despite growing expectations for the use of ‘sustainable aviation fuels’, the UK’s net-zero carbon emissions target is Critics argue that expansion is incompatible with legally binding goals to achieve.
Downing Street announced this week that Heathrow Airport still needs a third runway to meet four tests on carbon emissions, noise, air quality and growth. Local noise and air pollution issues are considered by experts to be the most difficult problem to deal with on busy west London sites.
Meanwhile, Reeves, who met with bankers and investors in Davos on Wednesday, reiterated his support for aggressive deregulation and the need to clear the way for more construction.
“There’s always a reason not to invest or build,” she says. “We have bats, we have newts. In 20 years, we may have even more carbon emissions.”
Mr Reeves has sought to reassure businesses that Britain has clear plans for growth following this month’s bond collapse.
He also pledged to consider routes for highly skilled workers to come to the UK, as the country seeks to attract talent in areas such as AI and life sciences.
The government is also drafting a planning and infrastructure bill aimed at speeding up projects by making it harder for protesters to face multiple judicial reviews of the same case.
The bill would create a new Nature Restoration Fund that would allow developers to meet environmental obligations more quickly to accelerate housing construction, and would create a new Nature Restoration Fund that would help developers meet their environmental obligations more quickly to speed up housing construction, and would It includes measures to accelerate the approval of projects under the Infrastructure Projects Regime.