RACHEL Reeves today clashed with Sir Sadiq Khan over Heathrow Airport as she declared that growth “trumps other things”.
The Chancellor stared down eco zealots and the London Mayor as she vowed to push ahead with making “pro-growth decisions in the national interest”.
Rachel Reeves today slammed Sir Sadiq Khan over his opposition to expanding Heathrow[/caption]
Ms Reeves is expected to formally confirm the expansion of Heathrow, as well as Gatwick and Luton airports, at a major speech on growth next week.
At the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland this morning she said: “The answer can’t always be ‘no’ and that’s been the problem in Britain for a long time.
“When there was a choice between something that would grow the economy and anything else, anything else always won.
“Now, of course, there are other things that matter, but when we say that growth is the number one mission of this Government, we mean it, and that means it trumps other things.
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“And so we’re making pro-growth decisions in the national interest.”
A Labour civil war erupted this week as Ms Reeves’ mission to expand aviation opportunities were revealed.
Sir Sadiq threatened to lodge a legal challenge against the expansions, while Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the move would trap investment in the South of the country.
Energy Secretary Ed Milliband is understood to be opposed to increasing air traffic because of its impact on Net Zero.
He and seven other cabinet ministers, including Sir Keir Starmer, have previously voted against it.
But more than 100 back-benchers who are members of the Labour Growth Group have supported the plan, calling it an “important project” to “unlock investment”.
Labour MP Chris Curtis said: “In an increasingly interconnected world having greater airport capacity is really important.
“Heathrow’s expansion is an important part of a range of projects the Government can back to unlock growth and investment in this country.”
EasyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis welcomed the news, commenting: “We’ve always said that aviation, the industry, is an enabler of economic growth.
“When it comes to Heathrow, I’ve always thought Heathrow would fit our network of primary airports with great catchment areas.
“It would be a unique opportunity to operate from Heathrow at scale – because obviously right now it’s slot-constrained – and give us an opportunity to provide lower fares for UK consumers that currently at Heathrow just have the option of flag carriers.
“It fits with our network, we’re present at all the other major European airports like Schiphol, Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Geneva.”
